Kamen Rider Kabuto: Goddesses of the Hyperdimension
by DriveLegendARK1
Summary: A new adventure awaits for the last Riders, a hyperdimensional adventure. Two gods meet four goddesses, and a hellish older brother meets a lonely older sister. Like Tendou's grandmother says: "If you are going for an adventure, make it a big one." (Cover by Maddog123greget of DeviantArt)
1. A God in a World of Goddesses

**Hello there, I'm DriveLegendARK1 and this is my latest project. Somehow it turned out different than I thought it would.**

* * *

 **Episode One: A God in a World of Goddesses.**

 **Paris, France**

From a high-class restaurant a man of his twenties came out. His wavy black hair fluttered with the wind. He wore a black jacket over a white button-up shirt, a black muffler, and dark trousers. On him was a duffel bag. This man had finished with his studies in France and at the moment walking with no clear destination.

"No matter which direction I go, it will always lead to the future," he said to himself.

He is not just a man. He is the man who walks the path of heaven and will rule everything, Tendou Souji. Some of his titles are the god of the sun, Kabuto's chosen one, and the one who controls the light. He is adept in almost anything, but his most treasured skill is cooking.

Tendou kept on walking until he sensed something. He opened his bag and saw his belt–the Kabuto belt– was covered in electricity. He put it on and a portal of light appeared in front of him.

"A path of light. My new fate has come to greet me without letting me prepare. However, Grandmother said this: 'If I wish for it, fate will always be my ally.'"

With those words, he went into the portal.

 **Tokyo, Japan**

A police officer had just finished changing to his casual clothing, which consisted of a white tee under a matching shirt and blue trousers. He was ready to go back to his apartment with a smile on his face. Although he looks like a normal man, he has faced many hardships. He is the god of battle and Gatack's chosen one, Kagami Arata.

When Kagami entered his apartment and turned on the lights, he was surprised that the Gatack belt, which he kept on his desk as a memoir, was cackling. He quickly grabbed a piece of paper, a pen, and an envelope, acting on a hunch. After he wrote the letter, he put it in the envelope, titled it "Leave of Absence", addressed it to the police station and put it in a nearby mailbox. Going back, he wore the belt and light replaced the empty space of his door frame.

"Too bad I've to take a leave of absence, I like being a cop," he complained halfheartedly. With no more words, he went in.

 **Shibuya, Japan**

The night sky was as black as the trench coat of a certain person, who was lying near the rubble of the Shibuya meteorite incident. His coat only had the long left sleeve. He wore a worn out white singlet under it and black trousers, with his left boot entirely visible. He had a hexagon-buckled belt–the Hopper belt–on his waist instead of his usual chains. Before this, he was the captain of a special op squad under the now dissolved ZECT and the creator of the ideal Kanzen Chouwa, 'perfect harmony'. Once TheBee's chosen one and now one half of the Hell Brothers, he is Yaguruma Sou.

"The darkness I have been into, is nothing compared to the light I yearn. The light that exists within the night," he said to no one.

His wish apparently came true as his belt electrified and a bright light shone upon him. He stood up, ready to reach said light.

"Is this the light I have been seeking?"

He entered the light when his hand touched it.

* * *

 **Gamindustri**

In a dimension different from the riders', an event was held in an advanced city. The residents witnessed this from all around.

"Hear ye, all Gamindustri residents far and wide."

A man in black looked upon the holographic screen from an alleyway.

"We take one giant leap toward a new era today. It brings me great pleasure to be together with you all as we welcome this joyous day."

Purple banners were raised. A purple-haired female walked between them. She was wearing a black dress and a violet flower hair ornament.

"As you all know, this world has been torn by strife over the past few years," she stated.

On one end, a woman with white hair stepped towards the center of the square. She was in a spaghetti strap dress of the same color as the purple-haired female.

"Lastation, governed by its CPU, the goddess Black Heart."

On another end, a blue-haired girl with a tiara walked the aisle. Her attire of choice was a white and blue strapless dress.

"Lowee, governed by its CPU, the goddess White Heart."

Finally, a green-haired woman in a white and green dress appeared.

"Leanbox, governed by its CPU, the goddess Green Heart."

Each of them stood on a hexagonal plate, which then took them floating to the air. Before that, the lead speaker introduced herself.

"And Planeptune, governed by myself, the goddess Purple Heart."

She went on with her speech as the four goddesses went up to the skies.

"Share Energy forms the basis of national power in this world. The four nations competed over it, and sometimes we goddesses ourselves came to blows. However, that will become a thing of the past."

A man in white observed from the window of a hotel.

"The treaty of friendship that shall be signed today will prohibit taking Share Energy by force. From this point onward, the only way to acquire it will be by making one's country a better place, which will lead to worldwide development and progress."

The four joined their hands and declared their oath.

"We hereby swear to overcome the past and create a world filled with hope."

Fireworks were launched and the audience applauded, signifying the end of the ceremony. The event continued with a party later that night. Purple Heart, who was standing near the railing, changed into a short lilac-haired girl wearing a parka over a purple dress. She also wore two white D-pad shaped hair clips.

"Yahoo, done and done!" she said.

The goddesses and their companions looked at her in confusion. Black Heart was the first one who spoke up.

"The difference between your two forms never fails to amaze me, Neptune," she said before changing to a twin-tailed girl in a dress, which was a combination of blue, black and white. Her hair was tied with blue ribbons.

"That aside, what'd you think of my speech, Noire?" Neptune asked, inching her face close to Noire.

"Well, it wasn't bad, but I'm pretty sure Histoire wrote it for you."

Said person's face reddened, meaning that was true.

"It sure pisses me off that you got to hog the spotlight," White Heart spoke up next.

"C'mon Blanc, don't say that!"

White Heart, or Blanc, changed into a short brunette in a mostly white attire: dress, coat, and hat. She was taller than Neptune, although slightly.

"I regret using rock-paper-scissors to decide the speaker."

"Why don't you just let it go?" Green Heart suggested, changing into a tall blonde with a voluptuous figure. In that form, she is referred to as Vert. Her dress was green and white with gold linings. Her gloves were white, also with gold linings.

"She's right. After all, we are no longer enemies. We're best buds, right?" Neptune said with a glass in hand, holding it in front of her. The other three followed her gesture and they had a toast.

 **Planeptower**

One month had passed since the ceremony, and almost three weeks since the arrival of a mysterious guest in the Planeptower. Neptune was playing games instead of doing her job as a CPU, as usual. This angered Histoire.

"You aren't fulfilling _any_ of of your responsibilities as a CPU, Neptune-san!" she exclaimed.

"Sonic Jump! Oh, fiddlesticks!"

"Are you listening to me?"

Neptune turned around and did the "teehee" gesture, "Well, I guess these peaceful days just turned my brain to mush."

"Neptune-san, CPUs have all kinds of work–"

"Onee-chan, lunch is ready!"

Entered a girl wearing something akin to a school uniform. She looked like Neptune, but taller and had longer hair. She also had a D-pad hair clip.

"Thanks for telling me, Nepgear!"

Neptune got up and went to the dining table. The guest was sitting on his chair, reading a newspaper, donning a gray robe and trousers. Nepgear and Histoire followed suit.

"What is it this time, Tendou?"

"It's mackerel miso," he answered.

"It looks good, Tendou-san," Nepgear said as she sat.

"It's him after all, but that's not the point! You should perform your duties!" Histoire yelled at the two.

Tendou closed the newspaper and quoted, "Grandmother said this: 'Angels descend during meals. Therefore, it's a sacred time.' You can and will wait until they're finished, Histoire."

Disappointed and depressed, she left them. To be told by someone other than the goddesses hurt her pride, with no respect even.

"Aww, she left. I don't want sad Histy, I want the hissy Histy."

Despite saying that, she proceeded eating anyway.

* * *

 **Downtown Planeptune**

In the city's transport tube, a brunette with a jacket that seemed too big for her and a green bow on her hair was greeted by a pinkette wearing a sweater with detached sleeves and a red skirt.

"Ai-chan!" the pinkette said as she ran.

The brunette turned around and replied, "Compa!"

IF, or Ai-chan for some people, continued talking, "Done with work?"

"Yes. I'm on my way to Nep-Nep's place," the pinkette, Compa, replied.

"Oh, then I'll come with you."

When they exited the tube, they bumped into someone. Apparently, the person–a pale blue-haired woman –was giving out flyers. She gave one to Compa before running away. She read it and both of them proceeded to Neptune's place.

As the woman ran, she bumped into another person, this time a man. Like last time, she gave him a flyer and ran away. Curious, he read it.

"Goddesses? The deities I know are me and Tendou, although they're just monikers," he said to himself.

 **Planeptower**

Neptune, Nepgear, and Histoire were in a dark chamber where a power-symbol crystal–the Share Crystal–floated at the center of the chamber. The crystal was supposed to emit a bright light, but at that moment, it didn't.

"Take a look at this!" Histoire said. The two sisters took a look, at Histoire.

"At the Share Crystal, not me!" she exclaimed.

"What about it?" Nepgear asked.

"The amount of Share energy gathered in our country's Share Crystal is currently showing a downward trend," she showed them a graph. It did go down, but not too significant.

"There's still a whole bunch," Neptune pointed out, "No need to worry, right?"

"Of course there is! You know where we get Shares from, don't you?"

"Oh..."

"The feelings of trust that the citizens place in the CPU who rules them, right?" Nepgear answered.

"Indeed. This downward trend shows that our citizens are slowly falling out of love with Neptune!"

"Say what? I don't remember doing anything that'd make them hate me," Neptune rebuked.

"I don't think you've done anything recently that'd make them love you either," countered Nepgear.

Shots were fired. Before long IF and Compa entered, with Tendou followed suit.

"She's right. Sorry, Lady Histoire, we just happened to overhear the conversation," IF said.

"I don't mind if it's you two. Who I mind is the one behind you." She pointed at Tendou.

"Not you too, Ai-chan! Are you going to take Histy's side as well?" Neptune looked at Compa, "But you're different, right Compa?"

"Look at this," she said, showing the flyer she got earlier.

"Huh? 'We don't need goddesses'."

"Ack!" Histoire was shocked. The problem was worse than she thought.

Compa continued, "In order to make these people understand you, you need to work much harder at your job."

"She hit my weak point for massive damage! I'm in big trouble!"

"It's the _nation_ that's in big trouble! For one thing, CPUs are supposed to devote all their blood, sweat, and tears to their citizens! _That_ is why you possess the great powers that you do."

"I still find this absurd, more so than Kagami," Tendou interjected.

"And people like _you_ are the ones destroying both the nation and the goddesses!"

"I stand my point. I don't need goddesses. I only devote myself to two things: me and my fate. I also don't need faith to fight, because I have him as my partner."

"And _who_ is the one you mention?" she asked in contempt.

'Great, they're arguing again. What should I do to break the tension? That's it!' "I'll go learn what it means to be a CPU!" Neptune suddenly shouted.

Histoire stopped her debate with Tendou as soon as she heard that. "Learn? From whom?" she asked.

"Uh, Noire! Noire of Lastation!"

Everyone screamed, "What!?" except the only man in the chamber.

* * *

 **Lastation Basilicom**

The Planeptune group, including Tendou, went to Lastation. On the way to the Sky Harbor, they met Kagami. For the two men, it was a pleasant surprise. During the journey, Kagami asked Tendou about the goddesses, and he gestured silently to the females. He didn't believe it, but so did his friend, albeit more to the absurdity of the concept itself. Before long they arrived and went straight to the main office, which was Noire's.

"I don't really get what's happening here, you see. Mind explaining to me why a neighboring country's CPU is sleeping in _our_ Basilicom!?" She was clearly not happy when Neptune just waltzed in and slept.

"Oh, just pretend I'm not here and carry on with your job. I don't mind," Neptune said, making an excuse.

"Well, _I_ do!"

"We're so sorry, Noire-san," Nepgear apologized and tried to wake her sister up, "Onee-chan, aren't you here to learn what it means to be a CPU?"

"Sorry, but I have to refuse," Noire declined, "I don't intend to extend an olive branch to my enemies."

"Hey, I'm not your enemy. We signed a treaty of friendship," Neptune reminded.

"It doesn't change the fact that we're still competing over Share Energy. You're still my enemy."

"Wouldn't it make both of you rivals instead?" Kagami questioned her logic.

"Rivals!? As in friends _and_ enemies? More importantly, who are you guys!?"

"Me?" Tendou raised his hand, pointing to the sky, "Walking the path of Heaven, the man who will rule everything. Tendou...Souji."

Everyone looked at him as if the sun shone upon him. Kagami thought it was time to introduce himself to stop them from staring at his friend.

"I'm Kagami Arata. We've been here for almost three weeks, or should I say in this dimension for almost three weeks."

"If you're from another dimension, then it's the same as–"

"Wow! Never thought that the loner Noire has friends!" Neptune butted in.

"Wha-!?"

"Who is this friend of yours, hmm?"

The elevator in the office opened to reveal a young girl of Nepgear's age. She looked like Noire, but with shorter twin-tails and the rest of her hair was left untied. She wore a black dress as opposed to Noire's more colorful one.

"Onee-chan, I'm done with these documents," she said.

"Good job, Uni. Just put them over there."

"U-um..."

"?"

"I was quite fast this time, wasn't I? I gave it my all–"

"Guess so. You've reached normal levels now, I suppose."

"Hey, is Uni the one you refer earlier? I don't think you can call your sister a friend," Neptune interrupted.

"No, I have other–"

"That's what you say, but aren't you just a loner?"

As the two argue, Nepgear noticed that Uni was not there anymore.

Outside at the gazebo, Uni thought about earlier. Noire wasn't paying attention to her, again. Her older sister only did when she did her work exceptionally well, and that rarely happened. A voice cut her train of thought.

"I envy you, Uni. You love your sister and want her to love you back. However, that's not how a younger sibling acts."

She turned to the voice and saw a man in a black trench coat. It was someone familiar to her, quite close even. Before she could say his name, another voice called. It was Nepgear. They sat down and had a chat.

"Sorry my sister had to butt in," Nepgear apologized.

"Nah, it's fine. That's how Onee-chan always is with me," reassured Uni, though not to herself. She continued, "Looks like she won't ever praise me unless I do a better job than she would. We all know that's not gonna happen, though."

"Uni..."

"I can't even transform yet."

"That goes for me, Rom-chan, and Ram-chan too."

"I-I guess... I'm sure I'll be the first out of the four of us to get the ability to transform."

"That's the spirit! I'm not gonna lose to you!"

Nepgear's N-Gear rang. When she looked at the notification, it was a text from Rom, one of the CPU Candidates of Lowee. Apparently, Uni told her that Nepgear was in Lastation, and was envious.

 **Lowee Basiicom**

Rom closed her DS. She was less than happy when her fellow Candidates were hanging out without her, and so was her twin sister, Ram. To differentiate between the two, they had some characteristics. Rom's hair is short, while Ram's is long. Rom often wears blue, while Ram often wears pink.

"Nepgear and Uni must be having such a nice time hanging out together," Rom lamented.

"Why can't _I_ go to visit another country!?" Ram complained

"Don't be so selfish," Blanc, their older sister, replied. She was busy doing her work.

"I wanna go hang out with Nepgear and Uni too!"

"I'm trying to work."

"Why!? Why!? Why!? Hey!"

She turned around with her office chair and prepared to scold them, then all of a sudden the double doors opened with a bang. Behind them was a man in white. His appearance gave the impression of an aristocrat.

"Tch, why do you always appear when I'm going to blow up?"

"It's part of my job. I mean, someone has to keep you from shouting at the twins," he said nonchalantly, "When you're angry, it's hard for you to calm down. If it's at your enemies I'm fine with it, but at your sisters? Not a chance letting that happen."

"Then what do you think should I do?"

"Noblesse Oblige."

He walked away, with the twins in tow. Blanc looked back at the monitor of her computer. She was having a discussion with Vert before the interference.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. We had been fighting each other for a long time, but unlike us, your sisters are so innocent. I wonder if we can be friendlier to each other."

"Just because we stopped using force doesn't mean we can become the best of friends overnight. More importantly..."

"Yes, please allow me to continue with my proposal."

* * *

 **Lastation Basilicom**

Neptune was working with the paperwork, which ended up with papers scattering everywhere. Noire tried to get the papers back in place and stop Neptune from messing with more. IF cut in and reminded her of the reason for which they came to Lastation in the first place.

"Um... you've got monster hunting requests from your citizens, right? How about teaching her what it means to be a CPU while we're at it?"

"Oh, she wouldn't need to lay a finger on any of the documents that way," Compa added.

Noire thought it was a good idea so she searched for any requests on her computer. She found one on which the location was near the border, implying that Neptune and the gang would go home directly after since she couldn't work with the Planeptune CPU around.

 **Nursune Plains**

Noire stated that the locations for the hunt were the Nursune Plains and the Trune Caves. Uni told her that no one was listening to her, and instead stopped near 'the famous "you can't read what it says from the back" sign', as Neptune described it. The Lastation CPU urged Neptune to go on, by poking her with a stick.

"You take this way too seriously!"

"Problem?"

"Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"It's no big deal. I want to create a much, _much_ , better nation."

"Well so do I, but I'd rather have fun doing it."

"You have _too_ much fun doing this!"

When they heard the cheers of the villagers, Noire knew they had arrived. She quickly greeted them from the top of the hill, but remembered that she should be in her CPU form. With the word "Access!" she transformed to Black Heart. This time, she had three blue wings and wore a black swimsuit-like clothing, arm-length gloves, stockings and heels.

"Rule number two of being a CPU: let your people bear full witness to your majesty."

"What's rule number one?"

"T-that's..."

"We're not here to talk about that, Nep-ko," IF said.

They went to the plains and saw blue blob monsters that looked like dogs.

"So this is the Nursune Plains?"

"Yes. A mass outbreak of Dogoos here is causing a lot of problems," one of the villagers said.

"Understood. It seems Neptune and Nepgear, our neighbors from Planeptune, will eliminate them for us."

"Nepu! That came out of nowhere!"

"We're supposed to do this?" Nepgear asked, also surprised.

"Rule number three: show off at every opportunity."

"You still don't mention rule number one, Noire-san," Kagami sweatdropped, "Things aside, you're pretty popular."

"But of course. That's because I'm a hard worker."

"In terms of popularity, I'm sure you'll lose."

"To whom?"

"Tendou."

Back with Neptune, Uni borrowed the N-Gear to take pictures so they could be used as PR. Then Neptune and Nepgear went straight down to business, summoning a katana and a beam sword respectively. They slashed one after another, but the Dogoos kept coming. Uni was ignored again. Not long after, IF and Compa joined the fray when their numbers became too many for the two CPUs. IF summoned a pair of katars and Compa a giant syringe.

"Ho... a syringe as a weapon," Tendou said, fascinated.

"Should we help them?" Kagami suggested.

"It's not worth our time. They are far less threatening than the Chrysalis Worms."

Then the little beasts began attacking the party's weak points, by licking them. Their numbers didn't decrease. The party began to crumble. It looked like they were losing, until...

"Having your enemies do the work for you? I'm jealous, Noire."

"That goes for Uni too, Aniki."

Two men in black entered the plains out of nowhere and began beating up the Dogoos, one with kicks, and the other with punches. They kept on fighting until their numbers depleted. Done with their job, they looked at the group. The two men looked similar, but with some key differences. One wore a white sleeveless T-shirt, a left-sleeved trench coat, and combat boots worn in a fashion that the left boot was completely visible. The other wore a red T-shirt, a right-sleeved coat, a ring on every right finger and an armlet on his left arm.

"Yaguruma-kun..."

"Kageyama-kun..."

"'Why are you here!?'" the Black sisters were shocked.

"Just passing by, if you have to ask," Yaguruma answered indifferently.

Tendou and Kagami stared at the 'brothers' in mild disbelief.

"So you're the one she mentioned, Yaguruma," Tendou deduced.

"Kageyama-san, I thought you died," Kagami said.

"Yeah, I thought so too," Kageyama replied, "But that's for another time."

"Let's go back to our assignment, partner."

"Right behind you."

They didn't walk away, they _jumped_ away. Back with the group, Noire scolded Neptune for not using her HDD.

"Fine, be as lazy as you want," she said before floating away to the Trune Caves. Before doing so, Uni wanted to tag along, but she refused as it was unnecessary.

"Let's follow her," Tendou said out of the blue.

"But she said–"

"Because I need you to help me, and bring the N-Gear with you."

Per his orders, she went with him.

 **Trune Caves**

With her wide onyx blade, Black Heart was hacking and slashing each and every monster in the cave when she reached a dead end. As she went out, an Ancient Dragon appeared. The giant lunged at her, but she successfully dodged.

"Quite the strong one, aren't you?"

She flew to strike when the armored cat charged, catching her off guard. She unknowingly fell on top of a crimson cross-shaped crystal, which robbed her of HDD. Cornered, she didn't know what else to do. However, behind the dragon...

"Take this!"

Neptune and Tendou hit the dragon's head with a flying side kick. It fell down with a loud rumble. As they say; the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

"Hey there!"

"You..."

"Why did you go back to normal?"

"I'm not sure. It happened so sudden–"

"Here it comes," Tendou warned.

The dragon swung its claw to Neptune, and she blocked it with her katana.

"Noire, you're supposed to transform at times like _these_." She then parried it.

"By the way, Uni's recording."

"What!? Why!?" Noire shouted.

Tendou raised his right arm and came forth his partner, the Kabuto Zecter. It flew to his hand and grabbed it, holding it in front of his left shoulder.

"I'll play it your way, Neptune. You know what to say."

"Sure. Pay close attention!"

The two glanced at each other before saying...

"'Henshin!'" Tendou slid the Zecter into the belt.

 **HENSHIN**

Neptune was engulfed in a pillar of light whereas Tendou had cyan hexagons cover all of his body. He was in a black bodysuit, thick red and gray armor and helmet with a blue visor. The Kabuto insignia was printed on his left shoulder. On the other hand Neptune had grown. She was as tall as Noire, her hair was longer, tied to twin braids, and her hair clips changed to black round ones with a blue cross each. Her bodysuit was black with some purple, black shoes and stockings, and purple wings.

They had transformed to Kabuto Masked Form and Purple Heart respectively.

"Behold the power of a goddess!" Purple Heart said, brandishing her trademark katana.

"Stop trying to act cool!" Noire said before slashing an enemy that was going to blindside the Planeptune CPU.

"Thanks. Leave this one to us." She looked at Kabuto from above, "See if you can keep up."

"That is my line, Neptune," he said.

With that done, Purple Heart dashed from the air and Kabuto from land, taking out his Kunai Gun in axe mode. She landed well-placed hits on its head, while her comrade slashed its legs. The dragon wasn't going to die without a fight as it swung its claws at the goddess and tried to stomp the Rider. Unfortunately she was fast and flying didn't help.

"Heh, I'll have to remind her who's keeping up with who."

Kabuto pushed the horn of his Zecter slightly and electricity ran onto his armor. The parts were lifted apart, revealing some of his Rider Form. As the helmet parts were lifted, he said the command.

"Cast Off!"

He pulled the horn to his right, opening the Zecter.

 **CAST OFF**

As the name suggests, the Masked armor cast off, violently propelling them in every direction. It was so violent Noire had to duck. A single beetle horn attached itself from the chest to the visor, giving him the two eyes.

 **CHANGE BEETLE**

He pulled off the kunai from the Kunai Gun and tapped the right pad of his belt.

"Clock Up."

 **CLOCK UP**

He disappeared from everyone's sights, surprising both Purple Heart and Noire. Before they could find out what just happened, he returned in seconds with the giant behind him. The dragon let out a loud roar as it fell to the ground. Knowing that the beast was going to collapse on top of him, he pressed the three buttons of the Kabuto Zecter in order from left to right.

 **ONE TWO THREE**

He closed the Zecter before saying the iconic phrase, "Rider... Kick," and then opened it once more.

 **RIDER** **KICK**

Tachyon flowed from the Zecter to his horn, then to his right leg. He turned around and roundhouse kicked its head mere inches before impact. The Ancient Dragon exploded to pixels, leaving the victor pointing towards the sky. Purple Heart descended near Kabuto.

"And that's rule number three of being a CPU. Isn't that right Noire?" Purple Heart said.

"If those rules are the only criteria, then I'm already a CPU," Kabuto added.

The Lastation CPU glared at the two, but it struck her. She realized that their personalities were oddly similar. They had that air of arrogance and elegance.

"I didn't need your help, I would've been fine by myself," Noire said, flustered.

" I know, but helping each other is what friends do," Purple Heart responded.

"It's not like I consider you a friend–"

"Why did you choose this area?"

"Because I wanted you to leave–"

"Because you figured rumors would spread across the border and Planeptune would hear about my...our valiant effort? That way, I could replenish some of my Share Energy. Thank you, Noire."

She changed back to Neptune and began her teasing fit.

"But we also gotta let everyone know about the goddess who almost got her butt kicked!"

"What!? Keep that a secret!"

She skipped out of the cave while yelling, "Listen to this, Noire lost!" and Noire had to chase her to shut her mouth.

Kabuto, closing the Zecter and turning back to Tendou, muttered to himself.

"'Friends', how I hated that word." He said to someone hidden in the caves, "Uni, we're done."

The CPU Candidate came out from behind the rocks, holding the N-Gear.

"Got everything?"

"Yeah. Well, was I helpful?"

"Yes, you were."

They then walked out of the caves. He sensed something in there, but didn't know what. Trusting his instinct, he would remember it for future reference.

* * *

 **Planeptower**

Back in the Share Crystal chamber, Histoire observed that the Share levels were elevated.

"Amazing! As expected from Noire-san."

Neptune's expectations deflated as she was expecting a praise.

"You mean 'Neptune' right?"

"I'm still not convinced you're behind all this."

"No, she's not. I am," Tendou claimed, entering the room.

"You of all people? It makes me harder to believe."

"If you're not convinced, ask Nepgear."

"Onee-chan, look!"

The three went out to the main room and saw Nepgear, IF, Compa, and Kagami bunched up at the computer. On the monitor was the footage Uni took back in the caves.

"Before you ask, Kagami, the Zecters are not bound by time and space once activated, and yes Histoire, the beetle I held in the video is my partner."

"You're saying that you defeated that dragon all by yourself?"

"Not exactly, I had some helping hands."

"Hey Tendou, was the masked beetle warrior really you?" IF asked.

"Who else?"

Then they looked at the comments. One of them saying that he was full of swagger, and another one saying the two were Planeptune's power couple, along with Lastation's badass brothers.

"And Histoire, according to Noire's rules of being a CPU, I'm already one."

Tendou walked away, preparing to cook for dinner. The Oracle was clearly fuming. She never thought that the one raising the Shares was the same person who rejected the concept of it.

* * *

 **I used both the Japanese and English nicknames, and the Japanese name format for reasons.**

 **This took me days to finish since the scenario when I re-watched it was longer than I expected. On the bright side, I let Tendou steal the show.**

 **P.S. The updates will be slower than my other project.**


	2. White Heart's Rider is Purple

**Hello there and welcome back. The anime is hilarious, but I want it a tad bit serious.**

* * *

 **Episode Two: White Heart's Rider is Purple**

 **Lowee**

Planeptune and Lastation's CPUs and Riders were going to visit the country's Basilicom. Their mode of transportation, to the Riders' surprise, was by carriage. Apparently Nepgear was invited by fellow CPU Candidates Rom and Ram to visit, since their older sister Blanc didn't allow them to do the opposite. While the CPUs talked about the Lowee CPU becoming a loner like a certain someone, the Riders had a more... serious matter to discuss in their own carriage.

"It's been about two years since we last met, Yaguruma," Tendou said, breaking the ice, "You look surprisingly well."

"I'm more surprised to the fact that we're talking to each other right now," he replied, "Friendly banter aside–if you can call it that–you know why we're having this discussion."

"Our arrival in Gamindustri."

"Assuming your cases are the same as mine, you got here via a path of light. Is that correct?"

"Yes. Our belts were cackling with electricity and we instinctively wore them. Said path opened before our eyes."

"That begs a question," Kagami continued, "Why is Kageyama-san here with us at the moment?"

"More importantly, why he is in this dimension before any of us are."

"It's hard to explain," Kageyama answered, "After you put me out of my misery, I was in some kind of a void. Then a voice called, saying that I had a duty to fulfill. Then suddenly I was on the outskirts of Lastation, never knowing what kind of duty I had to do. Thankfully, I was resurrected a human. Walking aimlessly, I spotted a young girl fighting a monster with a rifle, and she was losing. I blindsided it and we managed to defeat it together. I asked the reason for which she fought all alone, and her answer was so that she could get her older sister to notice her. I chuckled, to which she pouted. I told her that she wasn't being a younger sibling."

"Then what is, Otouto?" Yaguruma interrupted.

"That's the exact question she told me, Aniki. I had no definitive answer, but I felt what she was doing wasn't what she claimed to be. She dropped the issue and introduced herself as Uni of Lastation."

"As in the CPU Candidate?" Kagami asked.

"That's the one. I did likewise and she invited me to the nation. I met her sister, Noire, and she was flabbergasted. To ease her, I offered my strength in exchange for food and shelter, and she accepted. Since then I've been working and living at the Basilicom."

'If what he said is true, that means he's also here,' Tendou thought.

 **Lowee Basilicom**

"Got you!"

"Hey, get back here!"

Rom and Ram had pranked a maid of the Basilicom and was chased by said maid, while Blanc and Vert were having a meeting regarding something revolutionary. Annoyed, she was going to shut them up until...

"No, let me handle this," a man who was guarding the door said.

"I'll join you," another person said from the opposite end.

"Fine, have it your way," Blanc reluctantly agreed.

"Well excuse us, Lady Blanc and Lady Vert."

The two took their leave. As they got out the twins bumped into them.

"Watch it!" Ram said. As she looked up, she recognized the guy before her. "Onii-chan!"

"What were you doing just now?" 'Onii-chan' questioned the White Sisters.

"Playing with the housekeepers," Rom answered.

"You know your sister is busy, and causing a commotion doesn't help. So keep it down."

"But we have something to show her."

"What is it?"

Ram gave the book she was carrying to him, which was one of their sister's books. He opened the bookmarked page and wasn't too happy with what was written, or drawn, to it. It had Blanc's angry expression in crayon.

"Girls, what the heck is this?"

"Run for it!"

He gave chase. When he turned at the corner, he saw a certain group of people along with the twins: the Planeptune-Lastation group.

"Nepgear! Uni-chan!" Ram greeted.

"You came!" Rom added.

The older brother figure looked at Tendou and smiled at him. On the other hand, Kagami and Kageyama looked in shock.

"I knew you would end up in this world, Tsurugi," Tendou said.

Kamishiro Tsurugi, in his signature white attire, stood before them. The man who will replace the gods with a slash of a sword is alive and well, even better in some ways.

"Miss me?"

"Hey, don't leave me out!"

His companion appeared from the corner. Every Rider recognized the auburn shirt, brown vest and hat, and his decorated guitar case. The eccentric womanizing make-up artist, Kazama Daisuke. His appearance wasn't accounted for.

"Well well, you took me by surprise."

"Nice to meet you again."

 **Yard**

The CPUs gathered on the table, the Candidates played in the snow, and the Riders had a meeting on their own.

"You see," Neptune began, "We heard Lowee had this brand new amusement park, so we all decided to come and take a look."

"Histoire contacted me and said she wanted to teach you what it meant to be a CPU, though," Blanc said.

"Aw, don't bother with that. It was all in one ear and out the other last time, you know?"

"Well, _excuse_ me," Noire said.

"I've heard about the amusement park, too. Wouldn't it be fun if we all went there together?" Vert suggested. The Candidates overheard her and quickly went to their sisters.

"Super Nitten Land!? I wanna go!" Ram exclaimed.

"Take us there, I can't wait!" Rom followed.

Blanc paused for a moment, then said, "Could you take my sisters along?"

Neptune was surprised by this, "What about you?"

"I... just can't."

"More work? Why don't you just quit already? Tendou's grandmother once said: 'Work is as sticky as natto.'"

"That's... true in a way," Noire cut in, "But it doesn't mean you can slack off."

Then Blanc abruptly stood up, told them she couldn't go either way, and left. Tsurugi, who heard the hand-slam and saw her leave, was worried. For the last few days she had that troubled look, and would lock herself up afterwards. When he went to her room, the maid stopped him.

'This needs to be sorted out,' he thought.

* * *

 **Super Nitten Land**

As soon as they got to the amusement park, Rom and Ram dashed in, with Nepgear and Uni followed suit. Neptune bought some peaches, Noire and Vert sat on the park bench chilling out, and Tendou, Kagami, and Tsurugi separated from the Rider party. Ensuring no one was with them, Tsurugi began the conversation.

"How is Misaki?"

Kagami answered, "She's fine, and so is the Discabil family."

"Thank goodness. Wait, the Discabil is fine, as in out of debt?"

"Almost, but you get the point."

"How?"

"Misaki-san started a restaurant line along with Jiiya. It's been successful the past two years. Heck, I had a meal once there and it was delicious."

"As expected from Jiiya."

Kagami gestured Tendou to take over, and he complied. His first words baffled both Kagami and Tsurugi.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For not keeping our promise. There are actually a couple Worms that I let alive."

"Hiyori and Tadokoro-san," Kagami filled in, "Tadokoro-san is my boss, but Hiyori is precious to both of us. We even made an agreement that if one of us killed her, he must be killed by the other."

"As an apology, I give you these." He pulled out a book and a disc. "The book is a cookbook, written by Jiiya himself."

Tsurugi froze in awe and shock. "Why are you giving me this?"

"You know I call him 'Humanity's Treasure'. I want to see if you're worthy of that title."

"It's a challenge then? I accept."

He proceeded to activate the disc. It shone for a moment and later in his hands was an item he always had in his days as a Rider, the Sasword Yaiver.

"Nepgear built it per my request. You should see the look on her face when I handed her the Zecter."

"Tendou... I guess I should thank you."

"That'd be out of character."

"But still, thanks."

"They're the only gifts worth giving."

Back with the Candidates, Nepgear and Uni were looking for Rom and Ram. They found them being held captive by a yellow lizard.

"Rom-chan, Ram-chan!"

"What is the meaning of this!?"

As a response, it shot its tongue at them. Fortunately, they were pushed aside by the Hell Brothers, who was in a nearby alley.

"Post-pubescent hags need not apply!" it said.

"Of course they don't. No one likes a lolicon lizard," Yaguruma taunted.

"Why you...!"

"No Trick," his partner-in-crime, a pale girl in a black mouse hoodie, said, "We're done here."

With that, they left. Nepgear asked, "Why didn't you stop them?"

"It's foolish to go alone, Nepgear-san," Kageyama answered.

"I doubt they'll do anything to the twins, at least for the time being."

* * *

 **Lowee Basilicom**

"I'm extremely sorry, Lady Blanc gave me specific orders not to let anyone through," the maid apologized.

"It's always been like this. Why does she lock herself up?" Tsurugi asked, his voice raised.

"I'm just following orders, Lord Tsurugi. I also have no idea."

"At least let us apologize. It's our fault Rom and Ram got kidnapped," Uni confessed.

"We've already mobilized the guard and sent them out to look for them."

"We know that!"

"Leave," Blanc said from the other side of the door.

"Blanc! Why won't you let me through!?" Tsurugi yelled, "You said you trust me, yet this happened!"

"I... don't want to trouble you, and vice versa."

Hearing the footsteps leaving the area, she walked away from the door. The kidnapping of the twins devastated her.

"Rom... Ram... it's all my fault. If only I'd been... more responsible..."

Wiping her tears, she reassured herself, "I've got to do something, anything. Oh yeah, that–"

"Ga-thunk! Found you!"

A little blonde girl in a pink dress slammed the door open. She ran towards the CPU and two men in black pajamas followed, acting as her camera crew.

"Who are you?" Blanc asked.

"I'm Abnes, the ally of little girls everywhere!" the little girl introduced. "I'm the anchor of Abnes Channel, a super-hit web show. Don't you recognize me?

"Come now, let's get this broadcast started!"

"Broadcast?"

The camera rolled and the broadcast began.

"Hello to all our viewers across the world, this is Abnes, the idol to little girls everywhere! Today, we're here to visit Blanc, Lowee's little girl CPU!"

"Will you knock it off before I –"

"By the way, is it true that your little sisters, Rom and Ram, got kidnapped?"

"How did you know?"

"It _is_ true. So, how does it feel to have your precious little sisters snatched away from you?"

 **Yard**

The rest were in the yard, talking about what happened earlier.

"Good heavens, this is an emergency! Why does she have to keep up that stubborn facade?" Noire said, venting out her frustration.

"Yeah, that's supposed to be _your_ shtick, Noire," Neptune joked.

"Excuse me!?"

Vert was going to say something but was interrupted by Nepgear.

"Onee-chan, where's Tendou-san?"

Neptune looked around and confirmed her suspicions, one of her nation's Riders wasn't in the yard. Vert added, "And Tsurugi-kun for that matter."

"I saw them going back in," Kagami answered, "I think they're going to force themselves into her room."

"Tendou, what are you up to?" Yaguruma wondered.

"Probably something crazy," Daisuke speculated.

 **Lowee Basilicom**

The CPU was getting more and more uncomfortable and Abnes kept battering her with questions. Unfortunately, she was unaware that it was a live broadcast.

"Well then, are you saying it's all your fault your sisters got kidnapped?"

"Well..."

"Get a load of this! The little girl CPU can't say anything at all in her own defense! Little girls just aren't cut out to rule a nation, after all. They should be living carefree lives full of fun and games. Abnes Channel stands wholly opposed to little girls playing CPU."

"Except that she's not playing CPU."

Blanc, Abnes, and the camera crew looked to the person, or people, entering. They were Tendou and Tsurugi, standing tall and proud.

"Looks like someone beat us to it," Tendou said.

"Who're you?"

"Odd, the anchor of a super-hit web series doesn't know us. Shall we introduce ourselves?"

"Take the lead, Tendou."

Tendou pointed to the sky, "Walking the path of Heaven, the man who will rule everything, Tendou Souji."

Tsurugi swung his Yaiver upwards and lowered it to his torso with the point facing up, "The man who will replace gods with a slash of a sword, Kamishiro Tsurugi."

In the city, the citizens cheered at the two men.

"Lord Tsurugi!" "Kabuto!"

Back into the Basilicom, Tsurugi went first with his argument, "How ironic, you claim yourself an ally and idol of little girls, yet you badger one yourself."

"I'm just doing my job as an anchor."

"Let's talk about the 'living carefree lives full of fun and games' part. No one can be young forever, and no life is all about fun and games. If your life philosophy is the one I mentioned earlier, then you _are_ a little girl."

"Me? Don't be ridiculous!"

Tendou continued, "From what I heard, when you asked Blanc about the kidnapping, she couldn't answer nor defend herself. That's because she felt guilty. However, you took it as a sign of incompetence. Then you rambled about little girls can't be CPUs. I don't know if it's because you're ignorant or forgotten, CPUs have lived far longer than any of us have, even if they look like that." 'Now I remember why I only read the police reports in the newspaper.'

"'Who's the little girl now, little girl?'"

Abnes couldn't find a counterargument, and instead, she dragged her camera crew and left, but not before saying, "I'll let you off the hook this time, little girl CPU!"

Tsurugi let out a sigh, "Since that's taken care of, Blanc..."

He turned and saw her fainting. He grabbed her just before she hit the floor. "I think our arrival just makes it worse."

"I don't think so. She's just stressed out from all the questioning."

After putting her to bed, Tsurugi suggested the next course of action, "Now to find the twins."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Back in the meeting, Vert mentioned something about a satellite imagery service that this country used to have."

"Terra View. It was closed a decade ago from what I've read."

"The satellite's still functioning, but it has low resolution. She explained that the researchers of Leanbox have developed software that can produce a much higher resolution.

"She made an offer to Blanc. Leanbox would let her have the software if she provided them with photographic data of Lowee."

"That means both nations have the data of the world."

"Exactly. Rest assured, she was thinking of sharing this information with everyone. It was Blanc's idea actually. The reason she suggested that is because of the treaty."

"The treaty of friendship."

"I thought you hated that word."

"I used to, but not anymore."

Tendou walked to the door, but Tsurugi didn't follow him. He looked back, which was responded with, "I'm going to take care of her, so go."

He left the two alone and went to the party. They had children to be rescued.

* * *

 **Super Nitten Land**

Later that night The CPU-Rider party–minus Blanc and Tsurugi–went to the kidnapper's location, which was at a ride under construction. Vert decided to go in first to ensure the hostages were safe. When she arrived at the room, she made a dramatic entrance to a not-so-dramatic sight: Trick, or CFW Trick, 'playing' with Rom and Ram.

"That's quite enough!"

"Onee-chan?" Ram said.

"Who's that? Another delicious young morsel?" he said.

The twins had a good look on her face and realized it was Vert.

"Vert-nee-chan!" Rom called out.

"Let those girls go. I'll take their place!"

Trick looked at her in amazement, and not in a good way. "Huh? I'm a gentleman, you know. I only like little girls. I have no interest in those cancerous growths on your chest."

"What's wrong with being well-endowed?"

"All I can see is how much they'll sag one day."

What he said managed to anger her. In her rage, she transformed into her CPU form.

"You're a CPU!?"

Her CPU form consisted of a white two-piece suit with green sections, six pink wings, and a spear as a weapon of choice. Her hair was green done in a ponytail and her eyes were purple. The CPU of Leanbox, Green Heart.

She dashed onto him, thrusting her spear. He managed to block it and swiped her away. She caught herself in the air with a magic circle.

"Did you seriously think you had me licked?"

"We'll see about that."

She dashed towards him once more, shouting, "Have a taste of this Drill Lance! Rainy Ratnapura!"

She attacked him with multiple thrusts, breaking his guard. With one final thrust, she sent him flying. Unfortunately, he was launched with the White Sisters in tow.

The mouse-hoodie girl was trying to escape but was stopped by Black Heart, Uni, and the Hell Brothers.

"Shoot, CPUs!" she said.

"Onee-chan, she was in it too!" Uni said.

"Got it," Black Heart said, "How dare you think you can make a fool out of us?"

"That was just Trick. Also, we only carried out this kidnapping deal because some weird old hag put us up to it."

"Sounds like the kind of thing an underling would say."

"Yeah, I'm just a plain ol' underling. I'll be taking my leave now."

"Before you leave, tell us who this 'old hag' is," Yaguruma said.

"Or we'll make you," Kageyama added.

"Heeeee...!"

With CFW Trick, he landed safely, and so did Rom and Ram.

"I'll keep these little girls safe, even if it should cost me my life! That is my duty as a gentleman!"

After saying that, he noticed that the twins were not with him. He saw them climbing the fence, and tried to stop them by lashing out his tongue. Before it reached them, a hammer dropped on it. Rom and Ram knew whose hammer it was.

"Get your filthy tongue off my precious little sisters," Blanc warned, walking out of the shadows. "You'll pay for this, ya frickin' pedo!"

"Pedo? My, you flatter me."

"And you call yourself a gentleman?" Tsurugi stepped in.

"'Tsurugi-nii-chan!'" they said in unison.

"Let me paraphrase that, Blanc: Get your slimy tongue off my little sisters, you plebeian!"

"P-Plebeian!?"

He unsheathed the Sasword Yaiver and held it in a backhand manner.

 **STANDBY**

The Sasword Zecter dug its way to the surface and jumped into Tsurugi's free hand.

"I can't stand you anymore, let's end this."

"You took the words right out of my mouth!"

He attached it onto the sword, saying, "Henshin!"

 **HENSHIN**

Both of them transformed in different ways. Tsurugi was covered in purple hexagons, while Blanc in a pillar of light. Rom, Ram, and Trick looked in awe. Tsurugi was in a dark red and purple armor with orange tubes. His helmet had green thin visors with a stinger on top. Blanc wore a white swimsuit-like clothing which left her upper back bare, white arm-length gloves, matching shoes snd stockings, and a pair of blue rectangular wings. Her eyes were red and her hair was ice blue. She wielded a large single-edged axe with the greatest of ease.

They had become Sasword Masked Form and White Heart.

"I hope you're ready, ya stinkin' pedo!"

White Heart lunged at the lolicon lizard while Sasword prepared the next step of his transformation. He pushed the Zecter's stinger and electricity ran all over him, lifting parts of the armor.

"Cast Off!"

 **CAST OFF**

The parts blasted off him, revealing the menacing green eyes, the pincer-shaped shoulder pads, and the purple and gray torso which the gray part shaped like scorpion legs.

 **CHANGE SCORPION**

He went into the fray, aiding the Lowee CPU. She slammed Trick to the ground and Sasword slashed his face. Stepping back, Sasword pulled the stinger and pushed it again. "Rider Slash!"

 **RIDER SLASH**

Tachyon coursed to the sword and it was dripping with venom. He dashed to Trick with White Heart behind him. He hit him with a solid slash through the abdomen and she went to launch him sky high.

"Tanzerin Trombe!"

As he flew, Trick shouted, "Little girls forever!" and exploded.

Going back to their human forms, they turned to the twins.

"Rom, Ram, sorry for putting you through this. I'm a failure as a sister," Blanc apologized.

"Onee-chan, we brought you these," Rom said, pulling out four identical coins, which were used to lure them. They had heads of a dragon.

"Guardragon coins!" Ram added.

Their older sister smiled. As she was going to embrace them, Tsurugi cut in. "None for me?"

"You can take half my share, Tsurugi."

"Thanks."

The Rider put the sisters in a loving embrace. He was glad that everything had been settled.

In the unfinished ride, Neptune, Nepgear, and Daisuke were waiting for the enemy in front of the emergency exit. Tendou and Kagami already left, noticing how quiet it was.

"Onee-chan, maybe it's over already."

 **City**

The same maid who prevented access to the CPU's room was going into an alley. It turned out that it was a disguise, as she looked a lot older when she dropped it. In her hand was a chest containing a red cross-shaped crystal. She chuckled, as if she had found what she was looking for.

* * *

 **Lowee Basilicom**

The CPUs sat together once more, with their respective Riders standing behind them: Tendou with Neptune, Yaguruma with Noire, Tsurugi with Blanc, and Daisuke with Vert.

"Whaat!? Lack of sleep?"

The cause of her fainting yesterday was actually lack of sleep. Neptune was surprised at the simplicity of it.

"Yeah. That's why I lost consciousness, and why I didn't go out with you."

"What the heck?" Noire said, also surprised.

"I've been pulling all-nighters for a while now, so I was in no state to face you guys. Yet you saved Rom and Ram. Thank you so much, Vert, Noire."

Both of them smiled in gratitude.

"Tendou, Tsurugi, thanks for sticking up for me during that broadcast."

"Don't sweat it, I have my reasons for helping," Tendou said.

"Besides, it is my duty to take care of you, is it not?" Tsurugi pointed out.

"T-True enough."

"Onee-chan, look!" Rom came in and showed a book with her face drawn in crayon. Originally the cover had a sword and a scorpion on the back, and a warrior in white on the front.

"That's nice." She then noticed that it was a familiar book, and went to the front door where the rest were. She saw Ram doodling one of them, and Nepgear, Uni, Kagami, and Kageyama reading a copy.

"Ram, stop doodling on those things!"

"You've got so many copies of the same book. Does it matter if we draw on a few, right?"

"It does matter!"

"How?"

"W-Well... that's the story I spent night after night working on!"

"Basically, they're doujinshis?" Vert pointed out.

"What? What is it about, Uni?" Noire asked.

"It's about a lone swordsman in a quest to defeat evil gods along with an angel."

"Wow, the protagonist awakened to a new power!" Nepgear said.

Neptune noticed something on the protagonist's appearance. "Blanc, he looks familiar."

Kageyama looked at the front cover and confirmed his suspicions, "It's true."

Kagami turned to the back and it hit him, "Warrior in white, a sword, and a scorpion. Don't tell me it's..."

"Stop reading it!"

* * *

 **Bonus: Megami Chaser**

Invited by Noire, Blanc went to Lastation. She was given a gun of some sort.

"What is this?"

"It's a prototype of a Processor Unit I've made."

"Why is it purple?"

"My prototype is black, but the intended color is red. Meh, beggars can't be choosers."

"How do I use it?"

"Simply press the barrel and you're good to go."

Blanc did as instructed and heavy metal music began to fill the room. When she released it, she threw the gun-holding hand to the side.

 **BREAK UP**

Transforming to White Heart, purple holographic wheels generated the change. It was similar to the original, but with a black and purple suit, mechanized wings, and a helmet covering only half her face.

"This isn't what I expected."

"It feels more powerful," White Heart said with a monotone voice, like her human form, "Though slower."

'Her personality didn't change!?'

"I think I have a name for this Processor Unit."

"What will you name it?"

"Megami Chaser."

* * *

 **There you have it. Also, the doujinshi is a reference to a previous story. Hope you like the bonus.**


	3. CPU Trouble in Leanbox

**Hello there, and welcome back. I've been busy for the past few weeks and distractions didn't help, so I apologize.**

 **For the first part of this chapter, imagine nao singing the song.**

* * *

 **Episode Three: CPU Trouble in Leanbox**

 **Leanbox Stadium**

Neptune, Noire, Blanc, and their sisters were attending a live concert. IF, Compa, Tendou, and Kagami were dragged along. The star of the show was 5pb, a widely known idol in Gamindustri.

"Wow!" Neptune said in awe.

"You wouldn't expect anything less from Leanbox's diva, wouldn't you?" IF rhetorically asked.

"Yeah, but I prefer rock, though," Kagami stated, "What about you, Tendou?"

"Classical. Can't you hear it every time you visit my house?"

"Uhh, no."

"Good grief, guess I can't blame you."

"By the way Kagami-san," Nepgear asked, "Have you ever sung before?"

"Once, the time when Misaki-san dragged me to a karaoke."

They stopped talking as they saw two jets flew in a shape of a heart, then another jet through it, symbolizing 5pb's voice going right to her fans' hearts.

Beneath the docks near the stadium, a mouse in a diving suit was skipping on the seafloor.

"I don't care if it's a live concert or whatever, but you're being too noisy!" it complained, "Put yourself in the shoes of those who have to work in this racket."

It looked at its portable radar and noticed a red X on it. "First things first, I'd like to know why a mouse has to go underwater. A 'sea mouse' means something else entirely!"

The diving mouse finally found what it was looking for; a glowing red stone.

Back to the surface, 5pb had finished her song. "Thank you, everyone! The next song is popularized by a fellow singer, YU-KI. It's the NEXT LEVEL!"

* * *

 **Leanbox Basilicom**

The gang went to the Basilicom after it was over. Oddly, Vert herself didn't attend it.

"It's all well and good that she invited us to the concert, but what's with Vert not showing up herself?" Noire pointed out.

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Blanc said.

Neptune, Ram, and Rom were trying to open each door in the hallway, but most of them were locked. One door wasn't, and Neptune opened it to see what was inside. There were video game boxes, unopened figurines, and posters featuring two men with a little too much bromance.

"Wow, it's really messy in here," Kagami commented.

"Someone's not keen on cleaning it up," Noire added her own opinion.

"Look, this is a game that can be only be bought by those over eighteen years of age!" Neptune exclaimed.

"Hey, we've got little girls here!" IF said.

"We can just clean it up and–" Tendou said before noticing that Nepgear was admiring one of the posters. "Don't look at that!" he ordered, covering the Purple Sister's eyes in the progress.

"Eh?" Nepgear said in confusion of the sudden darkness. Then, Vert's voice filled the room. It came from the other side of a door in the room. When they entered, they saw Vert playing a game called 'Four Goddesses Online' on her computer.

"Hey! Sorry to see you couldn't make it!" Neptune said, grabbing her attention.

"Oh my, welcome," Vert greeted, "Sorry, I'm a little tied up right now."

"Hold it! Why did you ditch us to play games!?" Noire asked.

"I thought I'd just play for an hour before leaving, but my faction ended up laying siege to the enemy. I couldn't just leave."

"I thought you were going to throw a party for us here after the concert," Blanc reminded.

"We're right about to topple their castle, so if you could wait just a little bit longer..."

"Now what? Looks like we'll be waiting a bit longer," IF said.

"Let's see..."

Later Noire changed into a maid outfit. With a broom in her hand, she commanded, "Let's get everything ready!"

"Why do _we_ have to?" Neptune objected.

"Quit whining. We've come all the way to Leanbox, so let's make it a party worth the trip."

"For once, I agree," Tendou said, garbed in his robe.

"First off: Nepgear, IF, Compa, go shopping for ingredients!"

"Make sure you get tofu!"

"Yes sir!" they said all at once.

"Everyone else can help clean up the room."

"Alright, let's go!" Kagami shouted, wearing a headband. Everyone then got to work.

 **Shopping District**

Compa was waiting for IF and Nepgear when someone, or something, tripped on its foot. It was a gray male mouse with bat wings and a spade-tipped tail. His boss never calls him by name, but his name's Pirachu.

Trying to get up, Pirachu saw Compa and at that moment, he was lovestruck. Regaining his senses, he shot a glare, "Is it that amusing to see a mouse trip and fall?"

"I'm glad that you're okay. You look a little bruised, though."

She took his wounded hand and treated it with a Band-Aid. "There, all better! Be careful, Mister Mouse."

"O-okay."

"I'll take my leave then."

"W-wait!"

"What is it?"

With a blush on his face, he asked, "Um... could I have your name, please?"

"It's Compa."

"Compa-chan, such a sweet name."

Nepgear, done with the groceries, noticed a red cross-shaped crystal which Pirachu dropped when he fell. Out of curiosity, she picked it up and suddenly felt weak, dropping her paper bag in the process. Pirachu saw her, quickly snatched it, and ran away. Compa went to her aid.

"What's wrong, Gear-chan?"

"I don't know, it's like all my strength just left me."

"Is it anemia?"

Pirachu passed IF, who was carrying a bowl of tofu with one hand. She caught sight of him and looked back. Running into an alley, he sighed in relief.

"That was close. Never thought I'd run into one of the CPU Candidates. That aside," he paused, "Compa-chan is an angel, a total angel!"

 **Leanbox Basilicom**

The food was served and Vert began the party with a few words.

"Everyone, sorry to keep you waiting."

"You didn't do anything, Vert!" Noire yelled, "Not even the food! Tendou-kun and I had to cook for us all!"

"On that note, you were quite the cook," Tendou looked at her with a small grin, "Did Yaguruma teach you a few tricks?"

"N-no! I'm the cook of the two sisters, I-I always cook for her!"

"But Uni said you're busy all the time and earlier you said that you wanted mapo tofu, which is Yaguruma's signature dish."

"It was a slip of the tongue!"

"So you admit it?"

With nothing else to say, she confessed, "O-okay I admit it, he's the chef. He taught me how to cook in my spare time, which is not a lot, to be honest. He even gives me a plate of mapo tofu sometimes when I skip a meal."

After she said that, the rest of the Riders arrived.

"Where have you guys been!?"

"Kageyama and I went to some dungeons to train," Yaguruma spoke up first.

"I was practicing my sword fighting," Tsurugi then followed.

"I had a make-up quest downtown," Daisuke ended.

"Now that everyone is here, let us eat, drink, and make merry! I've prepared an extraordinary game for us today!" Vert announced.

"But first, let us eat," Tendou reminded, "Grandmother said this: 'Each meal only happens once in your life, so make each one the most important.'"

The feast was uneventful, save for some girls saying "Delicious!". Then Vert started the game which 'console' could generate a virtual reality and capture movements from a specially designed camera. Vert also mentioned that there was a combat simulation mode for training. They played this for a while until someone knocked on the door. Vert opened it, revealing one of the servants of the Basilicom. She told the goddess an urgent matter. Noire stopped the game and approached her.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I hear a lot of monsters showed in a waste disposal plant in the Zune district."

"Why is it a big deal?" Neptune wondered.

"It's an area under this nation's rule, so this shouldn't be happening."

She went to the door, saying, "I'll be going there now."

"Let me tag along!"

"This is a problem for my own country to deal with."

"C'mon, fate must have brought us here today. Let us help."

"Doing the whole 'we're all friends because we signed a treaty' thing again, are we?" Noire interjected.

"You got that right."

"I'll help too," Blanc also offered, "I owe you one ofter you helped us during the kidnapping incident, after all."

"Okay then, the three of us–"

"I-I'm coming too! Who knows how long you three would keep us waiting otherwise," Noire reluctantly said.

"Very well, let the four of us go," Vert finished.

"Um, I'll come too!" Nepgear said, and the other Candidates soon followed.

"You girls stay back. This isn't a game," Blanc advised.

"You can't even transform yet," Noire pointed out.

"Nepgear, leave this to your trusty ol' sis. I gotta show off once in a while!" her older sister reassured.

"Okay."

"On that note...

* * *

"Henshin!"

Outside the four goddesses transformed to their CPU forms with the rest watching. After saying their goodbyes, they flew to the waste disposal plant. As they leave, Nepgear had a look of worry on her face.

Later, Nepgear was on the balcony staring at the city. All of a sudden a voice entered her ears.

"Nepgear?"

She turned around and saw Tendou's friend of fate, Kagami approaching her.

"Kagami-san."

"You seem out of it, is there anything wrong?"

"No. It's just I'm kinda worried about Onee-chan."

"She's strong, so what are you worried about?"

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about tonight."

"Bad feeling?" 'Now I feel something's gonna happen to them.'

They went back inside and was informed by IF who got the info from a friend of hers that the mouse she saw back then was a wanted criminal. Compa was shocked by this as she thought he was just another mouse. She went on and said that he went to the Zune district a few hours ago. Her conclusion was someone probably arranged the monsters to appear at the plant.

"If I leave now, I can still make it by ebb tide. I'm gonna go check things out."

"Take me with you!" Nepgear asked.

"No way, I can't put you in danger too."

"But I'm worried! Please, IF-san!"

She was still adamant on not getting Nepgear into it. However, a certain Rider was going to change her mind.

"Take her, IF," Tendou spoke up

"Why?"

"Because I'm going there."

Every non-Rider shouted in unison, "What!?"

"Of all people you should be the level-headed one!"

"I've done some reckless things in the past, trust me. Besides, Neptune's little sister is my little sister. I also don't want her to get hurt."

Surprised by this statement, Nepgear thought, 'Tendou-san...'

Finally, she was convinced. "Alright, I'll take her with me."

"Before we go, catch!" He threw three things at her. The first two were...

"A helmet and gloves? Wait, how did you know that I have a motorcycle?"

"Rider's intuition."

The next item was something she didn't expect.

"A bracelet? No, it's more of a watch." She put it on nonetheless.

"That's for the tofu."

So, the three of them rode for Zune. IF and Nepgear were riding a green and black motorcycle, and Tendou the recently built Kabuto Extender. Both IF and Tendou wore full face helmets and gloves: blue for the former and black the latter. On the other hand, Nepgear wore a lilac open face helmet.

* * *

 **Zune Waste Plant**

"Listen up, Nepgear," IF began, "Whatever happens, don't try the impossible. We'll retreat the moment we sense any danger."

"Right. Thank you, IF-san."

They sped through the dry land and saw a faint dome of light. It felt ominous. Reaching a vantage point, a transparent purple pyramid entered their field of vision. The CPUs were bound within.

"Onee-chan..." Nepgear tried to go to save her sister.

"Don't!" Tendou warned.

"But she's–"

"I said don't!"

To hear him raise his voice was startling since they never saw him do that.

"IF, bring her back to the Basilicom."

"What about you?"

"I'll bring them back."

"Wha–? By yourself!?"

"Can't risk anything here."

"Fine, make sure to come back okay?"

He didn't answer and instead rode towards the pyramid and the goddess captor.

"Onee-chan..."

"You hear him, Nepgear. Let's go!"

"Onee-chan!"

Inside the pyramid, the already de-transformed goddesses looked at the source of the shout.

"Nepgear?"

Then, another sound went into their ears; the sound of an engine. Someone came with a motorcycle. Stopping near the pyramid, the rider took off his helmet, shocking the goddesses.

"Tendou!?" Neptune and Blanc shouted.

"Tendou-kun!?" Noire and Vert followed suit.

"Yo," he replied. Getting off the bike, he gazed at the woman before him. Her skin was pale, had pointed ears, and was dressed like a witch. "So you're the one who has captured the CPUs."

"Yes. It was I, Arfoire," she introduced. "It was possible because of this."

She showed him the red crystal. His mind went back to the time when he sensed something back in the caves, and that same sensation happened again.

"This is an Anti Crystal. It severs the link between you and your Share Crystals, robbing them of their powers and abilities. CPUs inside an Anti Crystal field will continue to lose their strength and energy. They will die a slow death." When she finished, she let out an evil laugh.

"In that case, I'll use something other than Shares to break them out."

Raising his hand, the Kabuto Zecter latched onto it and then he said the magic words.

"Henshin."

 **HENSHIN**

Transforming into Kabuto, he charged at the field and swung the Kunai Gun. It didn't go through and was repelled.

"What?"

"Physical attacks won't break it."

He pulled the horn of the Zecter to the other side, not wanting to waste more time.

"Cast Off."

 **CAST OFF**

The armor flew apart and some of them hit the field but to no effect.

 **CHANGE BEETLE**

Then he quickly prepared for his finishing move.

 **ONE TWO THREE**

"Rider... Kick."

 **RIDER KICK**

Stepping back a few steps, he ran and went for a flying side kick. Although it was a tachyon-charged kick, it didn't leave any kind of damage.

"Hahaha, that weak kick won't give any lasting effect!"

'Tch, not even a Rider Kick.'

"As you continue with your useless attempts, let me tell you my true power."

She summoned a spear as she explained.

"I have the ability to copy others. When you were trying to destroy the barrier, I took the time to copy you."

"She's like that bastard Nogi," he thought out loud.

"Now, feel the irony as I defeat you with your own power. Clock Up!"

"What!?"

All of a sudden she disappeared and Kabuto was slashed at various places.

"What the hell was that!?" Blanc asked in shock.

"It's like that time back in the caves," Noire remembered.

With haste, he tapped his belt pad. "Clock Up!"

 **CLOCK UP**

He disappeared as well. The girls were left with questions.

In Clock Up time, Kabuto and Arfoire were trading blows. However, it was in the favor of the latter. Every time he hit her, she would pay him back tenfold.

 **CLOCK OVER**

Knocking him back, Arfoire set him up for the finishing blow.

"This is the end of your futile struggle."

She charged her leg with tachyon. She ran towards him and yelled, "Rider Kick!" The roundhouse kick connected and Kabuto was knocked out of his armor and consciousness.

"Tendou!" Neptune shouted hysterically.

"Hahaha! Your savior has been defeated!" Then she looked at his unconscious form and had an idea. "I intended to leave him like this, but it's even better if he dies along with the Goddesses."

She made a hole on the field and wires inside it latched on his arms and legs. He was hung between Neptune and Noire. Unlike the girls, he was hung in a crucifix. The hole was closed once more, encasing the only human in the pyramid.

* * *

 **And I have to leave you hanging.**


	4. The Candidates' Resolve

**Hello there, we're picking this up from the last chapter.**

* * *

 **Episode Four: The Candidates' Resolve**

 **Leanbox Basilicom**

"What's this all about, IF-san?"

IF contacted Histoire to give a situation report on the CPUs, who had been captured. She filled her in about what happened, from their departure until the moment Tendou told them to leave.

"I'm not exactly sure, but they somehow sealed the powers of the goddesses."

"Can you explain in more detail?"

"That's all I know. My guess is it's an item of some sort. Could you look into it for us, Lady Histoire?"

"Certainly, but it'll take me three days."

"As soon as possible, please."

"I'll see what I can do. Anyway, Nepgear-san and the gang should return to Planeptune. I believe it would be better for Uni-san and the others to go back home too. Goodbye."

She cut the connection. IF told the gang, "Well, you heard her–"

"Hold on!" Uni interrupted, "Do you seriously expect us to just go home because she said so? Give us a proper explanation!"

"Usually, Onee-chan would knock baddies out in one blow!" Ram followed.

"Is she gonna die?" Rom added.

"I-I'm sure she'll be fine," Compa reassured.

"But I heard something about 'sealing their powers' earlier," Uni argued.

"I'm sorry," Nepgear, who was silent since she arrived, said out of the blue.

"It's not your fault, Gear-chan," Compa tried to comfort her.

"Yes, it is. The rock I picked up back when we were shopping, I'm sure that's the item which drained their powers. If only I had thought more carefully about why I felt dizzy back then... If only I had told Onee-chan and the others about it..."

"You idiot!" Uni shouted, "My sister is really strong, but because of you, she's...

" _You_ should've taken her place instead!" Then she ran off. Nepgear sobbed, blaming herself. Then...

"Graaah!"

Kagami yelled on top of his lungs and punched the wall. "I can't stand this! I'm going!"

"Kagami, get a hold of yourself!" Kageyama restrained him. "Tendou-san has yet to return. Do you think you stand a chance alone?"

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Sorry that I lost my cool like that. It's just..."

"I know. If I were you I would do the same."

"It's for Nepgear's sake. It's like she's carrying the burden all by herself."

"Then you know what to do."

He looked at Kageyama and grinned, "Right."

"I'll go get Uni. You get the twins."

'Tendou, I hope you're alright.'

Later, Nepgear was on the balcony once more. She was stargazing in the moonless night when a certain group approached her.

"Nepgear-chan."

"Come on!"

"I know, just stop pushing me."

She turned around and saw the other CPU Candidates, Kagami, and Kageyama, the girls went to her while the men stood on the sidelines.

"Let's make up," Rom offered her hand. She took it, along with Ram and Uni.

"I went too far," Uni began, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"I know, I know it's not your fault. Yet I..." she began tearing up.

"Yeah, and I know haw you feel."

She hugged her, easing her sadness. The sun rose, and everyone present looked at the beautiful scenery.

"I thought there couldn't be anyone stronger than my sister," Uni confessed, "That everything would be fine as long as she was around."

"I'm the same. I can't do anything without my sister either," Nepgear also confessed.

"The opposite happened to me," Kageyama cut in, "Ever since I lost TheBee Zecter I was desperate to get it back. I thought if I didn't have it I would be worthless. It all changed when Aniki came to my aid, and I've found my way again."

"But still, we have no idea what to do."

"It's simple! We just need to save them!" Ram said enthusiastically.

"I want to save them too," Rom followed suit.

"So am I," Kagami added.

"But we can't transform..."

"Then we just need to change that!"

"Let's learn how to do it."

The twins were already excited about the idea.

"Onee-chan said something about how I can't transform because I subconsciously limiting myself," Uni recalled, "Like the things we're scared about are holding us back."

"I have the solution," Kagami said.

"What is it?" Nepgear asked.

"In one of our first encounters, I told Tendou that I would surpass him. You should do that too."

"Be stronger than Tendou-san?"

"Be stronger than your sisters, or at least the thought of it."

"Then let's train our butts off!" Ram exclaimed.

The next day, IF and Compa was looking for the Candidates. She found them, along with Kagami and Kageyama, training with Vert's VR battle simulator.

"This is Lady Vert's game, isn't it?" IF asked.

They stopped sparring and Nepgear spoke up, "We figured we'd get some combat training done."

"Remember how she said that there was a combat simulation mode?" Uni continued.

"We decided to help, taking the role of the enemy," Kagami said, "I figure that if we fight them in human form, they'll have experience facing humanoid opponents, which in turn help them against other types."

"Plus, it can help them transform," Kageyama finished.

"We're facing against someone who already captured the goddesses," IF warned.

"Even so, I believe we have to do this," Nepgear said, "We've inherited the power of the CPUs, too."

"I had a feeling this would happen. I'll join you."

Then the door opened, revealing Yaguruma, Daisuke, and Tsurugi. Everyone in the room stared at the trio.

"Hey, don't leave us out of the action," Yaguruma said.

* * *

 **Zune Waste Plant**

Tendou woke up from his slumber and found out two things: He was bound with some kind of wire, and he was with the goddesses inside the barrier.

"Tendou, you're awake!" Neptune said, relieved. "I want to hug you, but the situation doesn't allow me to."

"What a way to give us a heart attack," Noire retorted.

"Heh," he replied. 'So I lost to her, huh? Not a surprise.'

He noticed that there was a black pool of fluid underneath them. "What is that?"

"Another effect of the Anti Crystals, I think," Blanc answered.

"She wants us to die a slow death. How typical."

"Why did she also put you here? You're not a CPU," Vert asked.

"She must be aware of my popularity."

"Tendou-kun..." She knew it wasn't the time for jokes. Maybe Neptune's attitude rubbed off on him.

Outside the barrier Pirachu was uploading the pictures he took the night before with analog connection, since there was no reception there, using a 56k modem. He was displeased with the speed, but that was all they had.

 **Leanbox Basilicom**

Nepgear sparred with Tsurugi in a sword-fight. At the beginning, it was an even match, but soon the odds were stacked against her. Tsurugi sidestepped an overhead slash and countered with a strike of his sword's spine. The Planeptune CPU Candidate fell on her face.

"You're improving. Next time, don't put all of your power in a lunge."

Getting up, she replied, "Understood!"

With Uni, she practiced her shooting, mentored by Daisuke. The former had her signature rifle, while the latter a modified handgun. Both of them shot some monsters generated by the VR game.

"How could you shoot them from this far with a handgun?"

"Experience, obviously. As for the weapon itself, it allows me to do this."

He demonstrated by approaching a group and shot them at close range. He shot to his left, then his right, his backside, and spun on his heel and shot the monster in front of him. She awed at his confidence every time he pulled the trigger.

"Remember, focus on your target and be sure that you can hit it."

The Lowee Candidates faced against the Hell Brothers themselves. Both duos contrasted in fighting style. The twins were magic users, while the brothers were close range fighters. They did have some trouble with teamwork, but eventually got the hang of it.

"Ram-chan, do it!" Rom told her twin sister. She acted as a sentinel, casting a shield to protect her from any attack.

"Got it!" she replied and cast an ice spell, blasting the brothers back.

"You're getting better at this," praised Kageyama.

"I envy you two," Yaguruma said, grinning, "You never stepped into battle, but you work together really well."

"It's the sister factor," Ram briefly explained.

IF and Kagami decided to have a hand-to-hand combat training. Before they began, she took off her oversized jacket. He noticed a familiar bracelet on her left wrist. He asked, "Where did you get that?"

"This? Tendou gave it to me, said it was a present. Why?"

"No, never mind."

They started their mock battle. Block after block, strike after strike, they didn't stop until their stamina ran out. When it did, they collapsed on their backs, panting and breathing heavily.

"That was..."

"Exhausting..."

The others were also done with their training, also tired. Soon after, Compa gave an update on the goddesses.

"Ai-chan! Terrible news!"

She gave her the smartphone and was shocked on what was displayed. It was a picture of Purple Heart tied up in a... peculiar position.

"Everyone, gather up!"

They went to her, wondering what was going on. She showed the picture, and Nepgear wasn't too comfortable seeing her sister like that.

"News of the four goddesses' capture will spread like wildfire."

"We can't even transform yet," Nepgear reasoned.

"There's no time. If the public saw these pictures, it might lead to a Share crash. When that happens..."

"We'll receive less power from the Share Crystals."

"That means we need to save our sisters before this gets in the way," Uni pointed out.

"Yes, but let's rest for the time being. We'll set out tonight," Kagami advised, "Got those things ready, Nepgear?"

"Just a few adjustments, Kagami-san, and we're good to go."

That night, they set off for Zune. IF rode her bike along with Nepgear, Compa drove a red topless car with the other Candidates and the Riders with their own bikes. Every Rider other than Kagami wore full face helmets and rode a gray motorcycle dubbed the Machine Zectron. Kagami himself, however, rode a blue dirt-bike called the Gatack Extender and wore a motocross helmet instead.

* * *

 **Zune Waste Plant**

The black liquid had accumulated quite a lot. It would take time for it to rise to critical levels, but every second passed meant their impending doom was getting closer and closer.

"Chin up, girls! We're fine right now and there's still hope for us," Neptune tried to cheer them up.

"I don't usually mind your optimism, but it gets really annoying at times like these," Noire retorted.

"You're trying to escape from reality," Blanc commented.

"I'm just saying, it's better than thinking we're doomed."

"False hope never did anyone any good."

"I don't think it's false hope at all," Vert said.

"Nepu?"

"Eh?"

"Have you forgotten about your sisters?"

"Uni? She's never fought without me by her side."

"Rom and Ram are still at an age where I have to keep them safe, too."

"Nepgear seems level-headed, but she's quite spoiled. I think it would be too much for her."

"Aren't you being selfish?" Tendou suddenly asked, gaining their attention. "Grandmother said this: 'People become stronger through adventures.' If you don't let them fight on their own and always accompany them through quests, they won't gain any strength. There will be a time when they don't want to be just your cute little sisters."

The older sisters pondered over his words. Their train of thought was broken when Pirachu reported, "They're here. As expected, the CPU Candidate came back with friends."

"What can they do?" Arfoire scoffed, "They probably can't reach this place, don't you think?"

Back with the gang, they arrived at the site. Compa was worried of the Candidates' current state.

"They still can't transform yet."

"It doesn't matter if the goddesses fail," IF said, "People will come to terms with it of their sisters give it their all. That will reduce the damage done to the Shares."

"You're being pessimistic," Kagami interjected, "I'm sure that they can do it. I believe in them."

He walked to the Candidates and heard Uni saying, "Ready?"

"Wait, let me do this."

He gestured the rest behind him. "On my signal." His signal apparently was a loud, "Uooooooooh!" and everyone charged.

Nepgear slashed a robot monster and went forward. Tsurugi also slashed some enemies with his Yaiver. Rom and Ram went for a simple strategy: the former guarding one side and the latter attacking the other. Yaguruma and Kageyama watched each other's backs as they laid down the offensive. Uni shot them from afar while Daisuke closed into enemy territory, as his preferred style. Both IF and Compa used their weapons –the katars and syringe respectively– to lay waste on the monsters. Kagami just rushed in and hit every enemy in sight.

Nepgear was taken by surprise as a monster shot her with a plasma beam. Instinctively, she raised her shield. Ram tried to help her but was caught off guard with another monster. Before she got attacked, Tsurugi came to her aid.

"Don't let your guard down!"

"Onii-chan..."

Uni tried to shoot the one behind her, but she ran out of bullets. She jumped out of the way to regroup and reload.

Nepgear went out of harm's way, but another one shot her with a barrage of plasma bullets. Defending herself, she couldn't proceed. She looked at her friends who were struggling.

'What have I done? I was mistaken. It's too early for us to go into battle! Everyone will die because of me! I can't do a thing! Help me, Onee-chan!'

Then it dawned on her, 'I'm relying on her again. I... really do need her by my side!'

She remembered that Uni said that they couldn't transform because they were subconsciously limiting themselves, like something that scared them.

'What I'm afraid of is... no longer being Onee-chan's little sister. No, that's not it. I'm afraid of becoming stronger than her!'

She then remembered Kagami's words, '"Be stronger than your sisters, or at least the thought of it."'

A burst of energy blasted from her as she generated Share Energy.

'If this is what it takes to bring her back...' "I will surpass her!"

At that moment, she transformed. She wore a white version of Purple Heart's attire, but without the sleeves. She also wore white elbow-length gloves, white shoes, stockings, and had wings in the shape of sections of a circle. Her eyes were blue like her sister, and her hair was lilac with a futuristic-looking button. A gunblade was her weapon of choice.

She had changed into her CPU form, Purple Sister.

She blasted monsters surrounding the others. After she did that, she dashed to the barrier holding her sister captive.

"I cannot retreat here. So... I have to do this!"

She eliminated any monster that was on her way. The others advanced towards their goal.

"She grows up so fast, doesn't she Kagami?" Tsurugi asked.

"Yeah. If she transforms," he prepared his belt, "Then so do we!"

He held his hand up high and his partner–the Gatack Zecter–flew towards him, letting itself be grabbed. Tsurugi also called the Sasword Zecter.

 **STANDBY**

It hopped onto his right hand. With an unspoken cue, they shouted, "'Henshin!'"

 **HENSHIN**

Gatack Zecter's voice was higher than the other Zecters. His Masked armor was similar to Kabuto's, except it was cobalt blue where it was supposed to be red. He had guns on his shoulders called the Gatack Vulcan. Unlike Kabuto, his two red eyes were already defined and his mouthpiece was regularly jagged.

The two Riders followed Purple Sister, blasting and slashing every enemy in their path.

Back with Arfoire, she was astonished that the monster numbers depleted quickly.

"These guys are surprisingly good."

"Well, good timing. I was just starting to feel bored."

Finished with the scrap monsters, the group got back on their rides, save Purple Sister who flew.

"I realized that I wanted to be protected by Onee-chan," she began, "So I was fine being weak. That's what I was thinking. However, when I wished to become stronger..."

"You managed to transform," Gatack finished her sentence. "It's like what Tendou said to me: 'Only those who know their weakness will be truly able to become stronger.'"

"That doesn't help me at all," Uni cut in.

Decided to be quiet, they continued their drive.

They finally reached their destination. Getting out of their vehicles, they went to the vantage point.

"Onee-chan!" Purple Sister shouted. The same word was repeated by the other candidates.

"Nepgear!"

"Rom..., Ram..."

"Uni..."

Gatack also shouted, but with a different word in mind, "Tendou!"

"Kagami..."

"I see you managed to transform, Nepgear," Neptune said, amazed.

"Yes, I'll save you right away."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Arfoire went to the group, smirking. "Good job making it this far, Candidates," she looked at Gatack and Sasword, "And Riders."

Gatack clenched his fists in response.

"My name is Arfoire. I'll be the one to bring joyous tidings of chaos to this world ruled by those four young ladies."

"Why would you do this? What are you after?"

"What I seek is a new system that doesn't need CPUs, a world where anyone can become a ruler."

"You just want to rule the world yourself!"

"If someone stronger than me shows up, they are free to knock me off the throne. That's how a world of equality works."

"Might makes right," Gatack muttered.

"You're just jealous of the goddesses' powers!" Uni retorted.

"There may have been a time when I felt that way," she paused, "But now, not anymore. Because..."

A flash of red light flashed from her, and her form changed. Her clothes showed more of her skin, had black and red wings, and her face had a fang shaped tattoo on each cheek.

"I myself possess the power of a CPU!"

"She transformed!?" Sasword said in shock, "But she's not a CPU!"

She morphed her weapon, which was initially a spear, into a sword. She shouted her attack, "Cross Combo!" and slashed Purple Sister, Gatack, and Sasword.

"What the heck!? That was Neptune's move!" Gatack was shocked.

"How can you use that move?" Purple Sister asked.

"She has copying abilities like Nogi!" Tendou told them.

"Nogi!?"

"That's not possible!"

"I _made_ it possible!"

She changed her sword into an axe and hit her with Tanzerin Trombe. Before she made any more moves, the Riders decided to take action.

"'Cast Off!'"

 **CAST OFF**

Armor pieces hit her from her sides, preventing her from finishing the Planeptune CPU Candidate. Again, Gatack's armor was similar to Kabuto's, but it was blue with gold linings. On his shoulders were compartments for his swords, the Gatack Double Calibur. The two horns on the sides of his helmet lifted up and attached themselves.

 **CHANGE STAG BEETLE**

 **CHANGE SCORPION**

Gatack charged at Arfoire, trying to hit her. She blocked most of it with her axe and the rest was dodged. He unsheathed his swords and attacked again, but to no avail. With a swift slash, he was knocked back. Sasword tried his luck and managed to slash her a few times, but she parried his last strike, turned her weapon into a sword, and counterattacked. Her final uppercut sent him flying. She went back to the lying Candidate, intending to end her. She was interrupted once more by the Lowee Candidate sisters.

"Stop it!" Rom began.

"Don't be mean to Nepgear!" Ram continued.

"Go suck on a pacifier or something, pipsqueak."

She proceeded to punish Purple Sister. They could only stand and watch.

"I... hate her."

"Yeah, me too."

"You and I..."

"Let's beat her up!"

Linking each other's hands, Rom and Ram channeled Share Energy, beginning to transform. Their appearances were similar: white tops, gloves, and stockings; white rhombus wings; and staves. The difference lied on two things: their eyes and hair. Rom had blue hair and pink eyes, while Ram had pink hair and blue eyes.

The Twin Candidates of Lowee, White Sister.

"You won't get away with this!" White Sister B said.

"Prepare yourself!" White Sister P followed.

"Huh? What can two transforming toddlers do?"

Her question was answered with a heart-shaped ice projectile. "Ice Coffin!"

The attack connected, but it didn't do any significant damage. Floating to their level, she struck the two with Noire's signature move, Lace Ribbon Dance. Purple Sister, in turn, shot her with her gunblade and ended with the same result.

"Now it's my turn."

"No."

Arfoire turned her head to the person interrupting her. Yaguruma and Kageyama stood there, seemingly not caring if she had the power of the CPUs.

"It's our turn," Yaguruma said, "Ready, Otouto?"

"Yeah. Let's go, Aniki."

Opening their belts, two Hopper Zecters hopped towards them. They grabbed one each, showing the sides. Yaguruma's was green and red, Kageyama's was brown and green. They slid them onto their belts.

"'Henshin.'"

 **HENSHIN**

Green and red hexagons respectively covered their form. Their armors were exactly the same, from the pointed shoulder pad, the crossed torso, and even the grasshopper-shaped helmet. What told them apart was Yaguruma's was emerald green and Kageyama's were dark brown. The former's eyes were red and the latter's were dull gray. Each was equipped with gold joints called the Anchor Jack; one was on his left leg while the other was on his right arm.

 **CHANGE KICK HOPPER**

 **CHANGE PUNCH HOPPER**

"Arfoire," KickHopper started.

"You're mocking us, aren't you?" PunchHopper continued.

"Laugh then."

They jumped and hit her with their attacks. She didn't fall to the ground, but it was enough to get her to their level. Both of them rushed in, surprising the pseudo-CPU. A kick, a punch, then a kick-punch combo. She wasn't affected, much. Stepping back, she detached parts of her wings and launched beams at the duo. They dodged but was hit with a lucky shot. She lunged with her sword in hand, hacking and slashing the brothers. Done with the Hoppers, she prepared her assault on the others. Before she could do that, she was bombarded by a barrage of bullets. Daisuke entered her vision.

"IF!" he called.

"What?"

"Transform!"

"Me? I'm not like the CPUs."

"So are the Riders. Call TheBee Zecter!"

Still confused, she raised her right arm. True to his words, TheBee Zecter landed on her hand. Realizing it was connected to her bracelet, she took off her jacket and prepared herself. Daisuke pulled out the Drake Grip and said Zecter hovered above his head.

'I think I have to cope with slim fits after this,' she thought.

She attached her Zecter onto the Rider Brace and Drake Zecter latched to the Grip.

'"Henshin!"'

 **HENSHIN**

Green hexagons enveloped her body, whilist Daisuke in blue. Her armor had gold accents with honeycomb patterns on her chest and face. Daisuke's was similar to a diving suit. TheBee flipped the wings and turned the Zecter in a half-circle, and Drake pulled the tail of his.

"Cast Off!"

 **CAST OFF**

TheBee's Rider form resembled a bee. It had chest armor shaped like a bee's stomach. Drake's armor had a dragonfly's wings from the right shoulder to under the left arm. Their helmets resembled the insects they were based on.

 **CHANGE WASP**

 **CHANGE DRAGONFLY**

"Give me a boost!" TheBee asked.

Drake complied and she stepped on his shoulder to tackle Arfoire to the ground. After that, she pummeled her with a barrage of punches. She was pushed away, and her opponent went back to the skies. Drake shot her, but she was barely fazed by that.

Uni, who hadn't transformed yet, was trying to shoot the pseudo-CPU. Taking her aim, she pulled the trigger and missed every single time. She realized that she was worried about her sister watching her. Shaking those thoughts off, she took aim once more.

'"Focus on your target and be sure that you can hit it."'

'That's it. Focus on your target.'

She aimed at Arfoire's beam cannons and made her shot. This time, every shot hit their target. When she prepared her final shot, she transformed. Black top, gloves, and stockings; white hair in curled-up twin-tails; and green eyes. Her rifle increased in size, and so did the firepower.

"EX Multi Blaster!"

She hit one of Arfoire's wings, destabilizing the CPU witch.

"There is no doubt, only resolve!"

"Uni-chan, that's so cool!" praised Purple Sister.

"Huh?" She looked at herself, and recognized she was the CPU Black Sister. "I transformed."

"You did it!" flattered White Sister P.

"Way to go!" White Sister B did the same.

"B-but of course! A hero always arrives fashionably late!" she said, trying not to fluster.

"You've finally found it," PunchHopper commented.

Inside the Anti Crystal field, everyone was proud of them, including Tendou. Their joy was short-lived as hands emerged from the black liquid. Those hands went to grab and tangle everyone in the barrier.

"What's happening?" Blanc wondered.

"What's going on?" Vert said, panicking.

As time passed, they began to feel the effects.

"I'm freezing."

"I've already stopped feeling anything."

"Yeah. I'm starting to feel numb."

"Feels like death has opened its doors," the only male of the bunch described.

"Nep-ko!"

Everyone turned their heads and saw IF, as TheBee.

"Ai-chan, is that you?" Neptune was surprised of her appearance.

"Yes, it's me. Anyway, I've got a message from Histoire."

She showed her smartphone and a hologram of Histoire popped out of the screen.

"I have bad news," she began, "Anti Crystals, as it is called, sever the link between and your Share Crystal, but that's not all. It also has the ability to convert Share Energy into something called Anti-Energy, and it is said that in concentrated amounts it can take goddesses' lives."

"So what can we do!? What about Tendou!?" Neptune panicked.

"As of now, we don't know how to counter it. I don't know the effects it can cause to a human, but considering the current situation I assume it will be far worse than you CPUs."

When she finished her sentence, Vert was already submerged into the Anti-Energy and lost consciousness. Blanc was the next victim as she drowned in the ominous energy. TheBee tried her signature move, "Rider Sting!"

 **RIDER STING**

She punched the barrier with her tachyon-charged wrist needle. It didn't go through.

"Not even a Rider Kick... can put a dent on it...," Tendou told her, slowly losing strength.

Back with the Candidates, they were baffled on what was happening in front of their eyes.

"What the heck is that?" Black Sister asked.

"I-I don't know!" Purple Sister said.

"That's how Anti-Energy kills goddesses," Arfoire answered her question.

She then took down the Candidates with Rainy Ratnapura. She left to take down the Riders, which was done quite easily. She hit Gatack with Rider Kick, Sasword with Rider Slash, TheBee with Rider Sting, Drake with a variation of Rider Shooting, and the Hoppers with Rider Punch.

The Anti-Energy had reached Neptune, Noire, and Tendou. As Neptune and Noire drowned to their deaths, Tendou was the last one standing. His body went cold, his heartbeat slowed, and his mind was going blank.

'Kagami... take care... of my sisters...' It was Tendou's final thought before his life left him.

"Onee-chan?" Purple Sister shakily called upon her sister.

"Tendou?" Gatack did the same.

The two watched the pyramid lost its shine. When it dawned on them, both of them shouted hysterically.

"Nooooooo!"

"Tendou!"

The rest looked in shock. The White Sisters were on the verge of crying, Black Sister was holding her tears and Compa already let it out. The Riders had the exact same thought in mind.

'Tendou Souji... is dead...'

"Hahaha, your precious sisters are no more!" Arfoire said, adding insult to injury, "Everything you did came too late. Don't let it get to you, you'll be joining them soon enough.

"In the dark abyss of despair, that is!"

She swung her spear to the vulnerable Purple Sister, but it was stopped by none other than...

"Kagami-san!?"

With Clock Up, he managed to reach her and block the strike, only using his hands. He repelled the attack, baffling the pseudo-CPU.

"What!?"

"Tendou said this: 'I am the world. As long as the world exists, so will I!' They won't die unless Gamindustri... no, the world dies!"

"Yes. They're all still fighting, and we refuse to lose!"

Gatack did the unthinkable. He called forth the Zecter which only two Riders could use; the Hyper Zecter.

"Let me show you... that we already have the future in our hands."

He put the Zecter to his left belt pad. "Hyper Cast Off!" He pushed the horn.

 **HYPER CAST OFF (Cue Lord of the Speed)**

Tachyon coursed on his body. When it was done, his armor had a couple changes. His horns were larger and his chest plate was bulkier. The chest plate had a red section with yellow lines around it.

 **CHANGE HYPER STAG BEETLE**

The sky shone in a myriad of colors, thanks to Hyper Gatack and the Candidates' resonating Share Energy. The Riders felt their strength returning.

"It's... beautiful," Compa awed.

Arfoire tried to flee and went as far as using Clock Up, but it was no match for Hyper Clock Up. She was thrown back to the crowd.

Black Sister and Drake prepared their weapons and shot them with their most powerful attack.

"EX Multi Blaster!"

"Rider Shooting!"

 **RIDER SHOOTING**

Both hit her dead on and she was knocked towards the White Sisters and the Hoppers. The former duo struck with a star-shaped projectile, launching her to the skies, and the latter went for Rider Jump.

"'Rider Jump!'"

 **RIDER JUMP**

Closing their distance, they went for a double move.

"Rider Kick!"

"Rider Punch!"

 **RIDER KICK**

 **RIDER PUNCH**

As their attack connected, the Anchor Jacks closed, enhancing the knockback effect and sent her sprawling on the ground. Getting up, she was met by Sasword and TheBee.

"Rider Slash!"

 **RIDER SLASH**

He slashed her with his venom-tipped sword. TheBee followed with her own signature move.

"Rider Sting!"

 **RIDER STING**

The powerful punch sent Arfoire towards the barrier, slamming it in the process.

"This is not possible!"

'If Rider Kick doesn't work, then that leaves...' "Come, Perfect Zecter!"

The once destroyed Zecter went to his hands. Slightly surprised that it was intact, he switched it to gun mode.

"Lend me your Zecters!"

TheBee, Drake, and Sasword nodded and their Zecters latched onto the Perfect Zecter, turning them back to their human forms. He pressed the buttons on it in order: red, yellow, blue, purple.

 **KABUTO POWER|THEBEE POWER|DRAKE POWER|SASWORD POWER**

"Gatack Power!" he added.

 **ALL ZECTERS COMBINED**

Purple Sister stood next to him and prepared her gunblade for the same thing.

"Nepgear, we only have one shot. Make it count!"

"Right, Kagami-san... no, Kagami-kun!"

The charge was complete and they pulled the trigger.

 **MAXIMUM HYPER CYCLONE**

"Uooooh!"

"Haaaaaa!"

Hyper Gatack released a vortex of tachyon-charged energy and Purple Sister launched a beam of Share Energy. The blast hit Arfoire and the barrier, destroying it in the process. After the field disintegrated, it left a wide crater.

 **(Song End)**

Gatack dropped to his knees, going back to Kagami.

"Onee-chan? Whare are you?"

The quiet atmosphere didn't help as Purple Sister spoke.

"Hey..."

"Right here, Nepgear."

Instinctively, she looked up and saw the CPUs, alive and well. The White Sister twins flew to their sister, hugging her in the process.

"I miss you so much!" White Sister P cried out.

"Thank goodness!" White Sister B followed.

"Sorry I made you worry," White Heart apologized.

Black Sister went to her sister, saying, "Sorry I took so long."

"What are you apologizing for? Look at how you've grown," Black Heart replied she continued with, "Thanks."

The younger sister hugged her earnestly, almost intending not to let go.

"You see... I... I...," Purple Sister stuttered.

"You did well, Nepgear. From now on, I'll always be with you," Purple Heart said.

She put her in her embrace. The sun rose and the ambiance was lighthearted. However, it was ruined by one person.

"Tendou!"

Kagami tried to wake his friend up, who was still unconscious. Purple Heart and the other CPUs realized the situation and went to him immediately.

"Come on, wake up! I can't show my face to Hiyori if you die!"

Purple Heart also tried, "Please, tell me you're okay!"

There was no response. They tried again and it was still the same result. The others stared at the lifeless body in melancholy. Purple Sister was already crying, the White Sisters bawled, and Black Sister tried not to. Their older sisters, sans Purple Heart, had pained expressions. IF and the Riders only stared in disbelief.

Then, a miracle occurred.

"... Juka..."

He slowly opened his eyes. His vision was still blurry, but he could see Purple Heart and Kagami. Suddenly, the former pulled him into a hug.

"Tendou!" she cried out, tears falling from her eyes.

"Neptune..."

"You idiot! Don't ever do that again!"

"Heh, no promises."

"... Can I call you 'Tendou-kun'?"

"Whatever suits you."

Kagami helped him stand since he was too weak to do it on his own.

"You were reckless, you know that?"

"Says the one who rushes in head first."

"Hey!"

With the others, Green Heart was surprise-hugged by Purple Sister. Daisuke wanted to hug her as well with the excuse of, "Can I get one?" and she complied. The ones watching laughed. The Hell Brothers didn't join the fun and instead watched the sunrise.

"The light... is warm," Yaguruma said.

"Yeah," Kageyama agreed.

Arfoire survived the blast and escaped into the sewers, carried by Pirachu. She was surprised that he saved her, which he answered that villains had their own brand of friendship.

* * *

 **Planeptune**

The Shares of each nation did go down a bit, but the CPUs managed to counteract. Vert launched her VR interface unit, branded 'Manect'. Blanc and the twins sold steamed buns, which became an instant hit. The Black Sisters went monster hunting and recovered more Shares than they lost. Each nation's Riders were also helping. Daisuke had established a permanent make-up service but still work by order. Tsurugi sold ramen, dubbing it 'Ramen of the Gods'. The Hopper Brothers followed the Black Sisters hunting

"Yet here we are, having a picnic," IF finished.

"You've got it the wrong way around!" Neptune said, "It's _because_ I went through that, I need to live every day like it's everyday!"

"I have no idea what you just said."

Suddenly, her chest hurt.

"Ai-chan, what's wrong!?"

She pulled her top down and there was a bee tattoo on her chest.

"TheBee's mark," Kagami answered her unspoken question.

Speaking of bees, a young girl in a bee suit called out. Everyone present turned to face her.

"Who in Gamindustri is that!?"

She pointed at three people, which she knew very well.

"IF! Compa! Souhi!"

* * *

 **She's coming, who's that girl? How does she know them?**


	5. Noire's (Not-So) Bizarre Secret

**Hello there, this is the new chapter. I've started** **writing this almost immediately after Death and Revival.**

 **Alternate title: It's the Noire-teasing Chapter!**

* * *

 **Episode Five: Noire's (Not-So) Bizarre Secret**

 **Lastation Basilicom: Noire's Office**

It was nighttime in Lastation as Noire entered her working space. She would be her usual self if she didn't skip and twirl to her specially placed mirror which is beside her desk. If Neptune saw her like this, she'd tease her to no end. If Yaguruma saw her, she wouldn't show her face to anyone for at least three days.

Good thing she was doing it at night, when everyone was asleep.

"Finally, I can begin!" she said to herself.

She then began to undress. Unbeknownst to her someone was watching, and it was not Neptune.

* * *

 **Planeptune Basilicom**

"Whoa, close shave!"

Neptune was playing her games again, this time a fighting game. Her opponent was Kagami, who wasn't a pushover when it comes to fighting games. The round ended with Neptune as the victor.

"Barely made it!"

"Almost got her!" the loser exclaimed.

"I'm bored!" said the young resident in the bee suit, "Play with me, Neptuna, Kagamin!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, P-ko? My name's not 'Neptuna'. It's Neptune!"

"It's not 'Kagamin', but Kagami. Ka-ga-mi!"

"Neptuna, Kagamin!" she still called them that.

In an attempt to calm her down, Kagami said, "Okay okay, we'll play with you!"

"Kagami, we still have–"

"Neptune, if you refuse that console's the price!" he whispered rather loudly.

She thought about that. When it hit her, she internally screamed 'Oh no!' with her hands on her face. "Y-yeah, we'll play!"

"Yay!"

P-ko then tackled Neptune, that actually hurt, really bad. With that strength, she might become an American football player in the future... or a professional wrestler. She ran around the room with Kagami chasing her since the CPU was knocked out.

Meanwhile, IF, Compa, Histoire, and Tendou were sitting nearby.

"Those three get along like a house on fire," Compa said.

"She's just running rings around Kagami," IF stated. "Lady Histoire, have you still not found her guardians?"

"No," Histoire answered, "She's been here for three weeks now. Don't we have any leads at all?"

"No idea."

"Why did she recognize the three of us?" Tendou wondered.

"Maybe we should consider ourselves lucky that we even find out what her name was."

"Yes. It's a good thing her underwear had the name 'Peashy' on it."

Kagami finally caught Peashy and lifted her off the floor. However, the act backfired on him.

"P-Punch!"

He was hit by a powerful uppercut by the little girl which knocked him out cold.

Later that day, the Planeptune crew had a guest: the Leanbox CPU, Vert. The CPU decided to spend some quality time with Nepgear on the balcony.

"How's this, Nepgear-chan? Nice and soft, right?"

She was hugging the younger CPU on her breasts.

"Yes, Vert-san."

"You can call me Onee-chan if you like."

"But my sister is–" she hugged tighter, "Oh, forget it. I think I could get used to you being my sister!"

"Of course."

"I... see things have gotten crazy out here too," IF sweat-dropped.

"The Lily Rank's gone through the roof!" Compa followed.

"You can say that again," Kagami added.

The balcony elevator opened, and the supposed Planeptune power couple stepped out.

"Hey, Vert!" Neptune started, "What're you doing to my little sister!?"

"Onee-chan!" Nepgear responded, only to be embraced again on Vert's chest.

"What's the problem with getting a little closer to each other every now and then?" Vert rhetorically asked.

"More like every day! Nepgear's _my_ little sister, you hear me?"

Her partner grabbed her hoodie, stopping any kind of sudden moves. "Not quite. She's also my little sister and I don't see a problem with this." 'If she was with Kazama, that would be a _very_ different story.'

"See? Even Tendou-kun is on my side," she let go of the Planeptune CPU Candidate and looked at Neptune, "I actually came here to offer you an invitation."

"What, you want me too? Are you going for the sisters route, *gasp* or maybe the harem route with Tendou-kun? Nepu~!"

"That's not it. Blanc contacted you, didn't she?"

"She did?"

* * *

 **Lastation Basilicom**

"Well, what do you want to talk about?"

The Lowee crew visited Lastation to discuss something important. The Candidates were playing with a long-eared bandicoot called Clatter. It had blue shorts, for some reason.

Back to topic, Noire asked what Blanc was up to. The Riders were on the sidelines listening.

"Simply put, we need to talk about network security," Blanc addressed.

"Oh, so you want to base yours off Lastation's unbreakable digital defenses?" she indirectly bragged.

"Uh..."

"But of course! I _did_ spare no expense in hiring the best staff possible to create an impregnable firewall."

"Does it also protect the satellite system you put into operation recently?"

"Indeed. I could let you copy it, but it'll cost you."

Tsurugi then butted in, "There are traces of the satellite being hacked from a server in Lastation."

Pause, and then, "Excuse me!?"

"Your satellite's being hacked, Noire," Yaguruma repeated.

"Impossible! A security breach is about as likely as being randomly hit by someone falling from the sky."

"Not even diamonds are unbreakable."

As if on cue, someone was falling from the sky and crashed onto Noire. That someone was Neptune.

"Phew, that was lucky."

Yaguruma then followed with an amused grin, "You were saying?"

Inside the office, Noire–who had a few bruises–said, "How could you be careless enough to plummet from the sky _and_ hit someone?"

"Sorry. P-ko started making a fuss when I was flying over here, and I ended up reverting by mistake."

"We have bikes that can fly," Kagami reminded, "But you let your sister carry her by herself."

"Sorry, Kagami-kun. Never thought of that," Nepgear apologized.

"Tendou gave you the plans and they were built by your hand. How did you forget about that?"

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot," Neptune said, "Introduce yourself, P-ko."

Nepgear put Peashy down to introduce herself. "I'm P!"

"I never knew you had a child this old, Neptune," Blanc said nonchalantly.

"Yeah. She's the first one I gave birth to, so she's extra-specially-precious to me!" Neptune replied with her hands gesturing in front of her stomach, emphasizing the statement. Before she could continue, someone–whose mind already went south–interrupted.

"Y-you gave birth to a child!?" Noire loudly asked, her voice cracking, her face blushing.

'That escalated quickly,' Blanc thought.

"We CPUs can't have children! O-or can we...that's beside the point! Who's the father?"

"Noire, it's–"

"Don't tell me. It's Tendou-kun, isn't it?" she pointed an accusatory finger.

Now Neptune's face went red, "N-no, you got it all wrong! She's a lost child who we're taking care of at our Basilicom!"

"I figured as much," Blanc said.

"Then why didn't you tell me!?" Noire almost shouted. She then took a deep breath and went back to the problem at hand. "Let's go somewhere else."

The CPUs went down with the elevator, along with Tendou, Yaguruma, Tsurugi, and Daisuke. Despite the appearance, it could fit eight people. After they left Uni asked Nepgear for advice. So they went out to the balcony.

"Noire-san has been acting weird?"

"She's been locking herself in her office every night, doing something."

"Are you sure she's not just working?"

"She wouldn't lock the door if she was. Sometimes I even hear this weird laughter from inside. I'm kinda worried."

"So basically, you want to what Noire-san is doing there on her own?"

"That's what it boils down to, I guess."

"I've got just the thing for you. I just happened to bring this with me."

Nepgear pulled out a small camera.

"What is it?"

"It's an inconspicuous gadget that wirelessly transmits images!"

"A hidden camera, you mean."

"This tiny little thing can compress and transmit HD video in real time! Isn't it awesome? I've been wanting to set it up some time and see how it works!"

 **Data Room**

"Bwahaha!"

Neptune was laughing her butt off. A little disturbed, Noire wondered why she was laughing so hard.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just, you were bragging about it every chance you got! You were like, 'Lastation's security is **Sekai Ichi!** ' and now you've got a security breach?" she went on with her laughter.

"No use crying over spilt milk," Tsurugi said on Blanc's behalf, "What's important is to make sure it doesn't happen again. That and..."

"Catching the person responsible," Daisuke finished.

"I figured something like this might happen, so I brought in a specialist to help us out," Vert said, "Come in."

A woman in a business suit entered.

"A super-duper programmer who's the pride and joy of Leanbox: Ms. Setag."

"Whoa, an original character!" Neptune exclaimed.

"Greetings. I'm the one billed as Setag," she introduced, "Billeased to make your acquaintance."

"Bill?" Tsurugi said, confused.

"A character that makes such terrible puns in _this_ day and age!? This one's gonna flop worse than Windows Me!"

"No need to worry. After this scene is over, I bill never show up again."

'That's a relief.'

"Would you be able to identify the culprit?" Noire wanted to ease her doubts.

"Billeave it to me."

She began to type on her laptop computer and the rest observed.

 **Noire's Office**

Nepgear was putting her camera in one of the bookshelves. Rom, Ram, and Peashy were playing tag with Clatter and Gatack Zecter. Kagami and Kageyama were minding their own business until the former took notice of the suspicious act.

"All done!"

"Nepgear?"

She froze. Turning around, she saw Kagami and Kageyama staring at her.

"Kagami-kun!"

"What the heck are you doing up there?"

"Uni wants to know what Noire-san is doing here at night, so I set up a hidden camera."

"Don't say it like that!" Uni said, flustered.

"Well?" Kageyama crossed his arms.

"I'm just...worried."

He sighed. "You know, I heard it too and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious."

"So let's try it out!"

Outside, the four of them watched the feed from Nepgear's N-Gear. The high definition image was staggering for a small camera. The owner of said device explained that the NPEG-4 codec it used made it possible. Suddenly a static was heard and the footage on the N-Gear changed. They noticed it was the feed of the exact same room, only in different points of view.

"A cross-connection. Wait, that means there are other hidden cameras in that room!"

"What!?"

* * *

 **Downtown**

Nepgear, Uni, Kagami, and Kageyama went to look for the source of the preexisting video feed. The children tagged along with Clatter.

"Tell us which building we're looking for, Nepgear!" Uni demanded. She was mad that someone spied on her sister.

"Unfortunately, this reverse tracking device only shows the approximate location."

"Is that so? Time to kick every door in sight then!"

"That is not a good idea, Uni," Kageyama refused her suggestion.

"I'm surprised you have that thing," Kagami pointed out, "Did you just happen to bring that too?"

"Actually, I never leave home without it. Portable chargers and tracing equipment are must-haves for any girl."

"In what world?"

"Not ours obviously," Kageyama stated.

Peashy latched onto Nepgear, saying she was hungry. None of them had any food. The Lowee Candidate twins handled the situation by telling her they were big girls. She let go and pouted, not wanting to be treated like a little girl.

"So they suddenly act all grown-up when there's a younger kid around," the Hell Brother mused.

Then they saw the CPUs in the sky. After that, they felt the turbulence of speeding motorcycles nearby, courtesy of Tendou and company. Their destination: an abandoned factory.

 **Factory**

"All righty! Let's find the culprit!" Neptune shouted excitedly.

"Keep it down! They'll run away if they found out we're here!" Noire loudly told her.

"Is this where the 'look who's talking' goes today?"

The Riders then arrived in their respective vehicles.

"And you four! Your machines are too loud!"

"They're bikes, what do you expect?" Tendou retorted.

On the other hand, Nepgear's team were in front of the gate. Clatter suddenly ran off, along with Peashy who gave chase. Immediately they rushed in to try and find them.

Back with the main crew, they entered the main building. Noire peeked on a door and saw somebody. Wasting no more time, she busted open the door. All of them had their weapons ready.

"Freeze! Put your hands up and turn slowly!"

The figure complied. They had a robotic body in a light shade of red, along with neon green sections.

"You're the hacker, I take it?"

They looked up, not saying a word.

"Answer me. Now!"

The robot stood up and said, "Oh, don't be such a stranger, sweetie," in a disturbingly effeminate voice. One can conclude this was a man.

"Call me Anonydeath!" he gave his name.

Of course, Neptune had the appropriate response: falling on her face in blatant surprise.

"A-a drag queen? With that appearance?"

"Goodness, how rude. My heart is more ladylike than any other!"

The Riders had their own opinions on this...man, with twitching eyes.

"Gah, this guy's weird," Tsurugi commented.

"I think _bizarre_ is the appropriate word," Tendou corrected.

"Like the comic?" Daisuke questioned.

"Worse. Like Neptune said, he's a straight-up drag queen. I just hope he doesn't make poses."

Noire didn't have the time for this. "Who cares about your gender? Are you gonna own up to your crimes or not?"

"Eheheheheh," he chuckled, "You're so cute in person. So much cuter than I imagined."

"Huh?" she blushed, "You can't distract me by saying things like that!"

"Oh no, sweetie. I'm serious, se-ri-ous."

He snapped his fingers and screens showing pictures of Noire materialized. The subject of the images became extremely embarrassed.

"I'm a huge fan of yours, Noire-chan. I wanted to learn more about you so badly that I just couldn't help myself."

"I don't care about these pictures. What I _do_ care is the hacking!"

"You don't care? So you don't care about these either?"

Some of the pictures changed to Noire sewing a certain costume. This made her even more embarrassed.

"I never know you were that kind of person," Blanc said.

"I am! I'm rather family-oriented, you see!" she said with a nervous laugh.

"These clothes look familiar," Vert pointed out.

"It's just your imagination! I'm absolutely positive it's just your imagination!" she turned to Anonydeath, "Hey! I _told_ you these weren't the problem here!"

"Oh? Is _this_ what you meant then?"

The pictures changed again, now showing her cosplaying as an idol, a high school guitarist, a professor's assistant, and a policewoman. The last costume had the badges of the 'Special Investigations Unit'. Nonetheless, it had the same effect of making Noire flustered even more. Her companions looking at them just made it worse.

"Don't look!"

"The way you panic is cute too!" He took a picture of her panicking, calling it an exclusive.

"That's it! I'm gonna throw you in the slammer for peeping!"

"Oh, my. If I should ever leave this place, all these pictures will be automatically sent around the world. Are you okay with that?"

"Huh?"

"I originally wanted to keep them all for myself, but covering the world in Noire sounds delight–"

His face was met with a boot before he could finish, making him fall from his chair. Looking up, he saw his assailant: the man who Noire knew well.

"Are you done, you drag freak?" the older Hell Brother asked, dropping his boot on Anonydeath's face.

"Watch the face! it's as fragile as–"

He stomped again. Glaring at the drag queen, he said, "To be honest, you're quite lucky." Stomp. "Watching Noire doing her work in the comfort of an isolated room." Stomp. "However." Stomp. "You only view her." Stomp. "As an object of interest." Stomp. "An object of your satisfaction!" Stomp, stomp, stomp. "I see her more than just that.

"She's a workaholic, I give you that. When she's working she always forgot about anything else, let it be her sister or herself. I had to feed her my mapo tofu at times so she can do her job and refill her stomach at the same time."

The other CPUs stared at her, only to give out a nervous chuckle.

"On the other hand, she always gets it done. Whether it's paperwork or on the field, Noire never lets up. She reminds me of my old self: a leader. The only difference is that she leads a larger number of people, a nation. Seeing her like this," he looked at the pictures, "Makes me glad for some reason."

"Yaguruma-kun..." Noire stared at him, her face blushing in admiration.

He stomped again to make sure the effeminate man was awake, "Now that I've got that off my chest, I realized," he kicked the poor man towards the wall, "You have no worth to be envied on."

Getting up, Anonydeath shouted, "You...you hurt my face and my fragile heart! You're not human!" and ran away.

"Hey wait!" Noire went to give chase. The rest followed suit.

Outside, the drag queen stopped to have a breather. The blue shorts bandicoot, Clatter, came out of nowhere and leaped around his body.

"Huh? Get away from me!"

From the same direction Peashy pounced onto him and knocked him down and the briefcase, scattering the contents. Nepgear's group finally caught up to the little girl.

"Peashy! Clatter!"

When he heard that name, his ears perked up.

"Peashy?"

He sat up and asked her, "Is your name Peashy?"

"Yep!" she answered cheerfully.

The door behind him was busted open, startling everyone. From behind it, Yaguruma showed up, followed by Noire and the other CPUs and Riders. Anonydeath visibly flinched, not wanting to get beaten up again. Yaguruma turned his head to the other people present.

"Kageyama?" he said, slightly surprised.

"Aniki?" his brother had the same expression.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, Anonydeath surrendered. Despite that, he still got kicked in the face.

"What was that for!?"

"That was for Noire."

Later, he was arrested. He never owned up to the hacking, though. Nepgear and the Candidates were curious about the whole ordeal, so to spite the Lastation CPU the older Hell Brother showed one of the pictures he managed to steal.

"Oh, so that's what Noire-san does every night," Nepgear said.

"Cosplay huh? I didn't expect you're into that," Kagami had the same expression.

"What's 'cosplay'?" Rom innocently asked.

"I'm done with this!" Noire shouted, "You are all to forget everything you saw here. Got it?"

Not too far away, Tendou and Tsurugi had a little chat.

"Something's still bugging me," the former began.

"It's not every day you have something in mind," the latter joked, "What is it?"

"You know that little girl there?" he pointed at Peashy who just sat in a quiet spot.

"Peashy-chan? What about it?"

"She recognizes me."

"She also knows IF and Compa. Is that a problem?"

"No, but it just doesn't feel right."

"Tendou," he put his hand on his companion's shoulder, "Take it easy. You'll find it eventually."

"Not like you to take it easy," he joked back. Then he saw Neptune giving the little girl a cup of pudding, which made him smile a little. "But I guess you're right."

 **Prison**

Anonydeath sat in his cell his head rested on his hands. He contacted someone, telling them that he found 'you-know-who'. It turned out that he hacked the satellite for this exact purpose.

* * *

 **Lastation Basilicom**

In the end of the day, the Black Sisters and the Hell Brothers talked about Noire's 'activities of the night'. She didn't feel too comfortable with the subject, but it was pointless to hide it.

"You don't like me cosplaying, right?" she started, "I don't mind quitting if you want me to."

"Don't quit," Uni said, to her surprise, "You can only do that because you're not too tied down with work, right?"

"I guess. I've had some more free time lately."

"That made me feel like I'd become a little bit more useful."

Kageyama ruffled the CPU Candidate's head, saying, "What are you saying? You've been a great help to her!"

"If you want to, I can join your cosplay charade," Yaguruma spoke. "Besides," he leaned his face closer to Noire, making her face heat up. "I always wanted to see you in a wedding dress."

"E-Eh!?"

"Aniki, be a little patient. She will be wearing it when the time comes. Right, Nee-san?" Kageyama joined in.

"Stop it you two!" she shouted.

The other three laughed at the flustered mess that was Noire. Then they heard a voice telling them to move away. Although it was one person who said that, they could see two people falling towards them.

For the second time that day, Noire became a landing cushion. This time, though, she wasn't alone as Yaguruma became one for the other person.

The impact was quite loud, so the others went up to the balcony to see what had happened. As they arrived, they saw the two newcomers. The first one was a girl, with the appearance age similar to Neptune. She had purple hair which was done in a large braid, dark magenta eyes, and was wearing an outfit akin to a pajama. As for the other one, which was a man, let's just say he had _very_ similar features of someone familiar. Tendou and Kagami only stood in shock, since they knew who this man was.

"Oops," the former said.

"I told you it'd be easier to use a tachyon gate," the latter scolded.

"Who...are you?" Neptune was the first person to ask.

"Oh, me?" the girl slowly said, standing up, "I'm Plutia. Planeptune's CPU."

"Souji," the man introduced, "Kusakabe Souji."

First, there was silence, and then, "Whaaat!?" That included the beetle duo.

* * *

 **Extra: It's Tendou All Along, Noire!**

"Don't tell me. It's Tendou-kun, isn't it?"

Before Neptune could open her mouth, the accused answered. "Yes, Noire. It's me."

He went behind the Planeptune CPU and gently placed his hand on her abdomen. "In fact, we're having another one right here."

Noire already thought about that scenario and couldn't take it. Whether it was the cuteness or the possibility, we'll never know. The result: she fainted.

"Tendou-kun, what are you saying?" Neptune questioned, her face reddening.

"What, you don't want to?"

"N-no...it's just..."

"Well," he leaned into her ear and whispered, "We can try later tonight."

Then, Neptune joined Noire to the land of the unconscious. He chuckled to himself and left to get some fresh air.

'Since when Tendou became such a tease?' everyone else wondered.

* * *

 **That's it for now. I'm going to take a break for a while, so don't expect updates soon.**

 **P.S. Subplots, subplots everywhere.**


	6. Purple Heart Hates Purple Vegetables

**Hello there, welcome to another chapter. Sadly, the eggplants here aren't as big and purple as the ones shown in the anime.**

* * *

 **Episode Six: Purple Heart Hates Purple Vegetables**

 **Planeptower**

For the time being, Plutia and Kusakabe stayed at Planeptune. The Planeptune crew and the guests were having a peaceful dinner. The dish was steak with eggplants and string beans. Neptune and the others were fine with the fact that Plutia was the CPU of Planeptune, at least in another dimension. As for Kusakabe...

"There's two of you!?"

Neptune stood up as she said that.

"Not exactly, Neptune-san," Kusakabe corrected.

"Then, you're his long lost brother? Tendou-kun, I've never heard of this!"

"Will you sit down? You're interrupting dinner," Tendou sternly scolded.

"Besides, that plot twist is overused," Kagami added.

"Tendou-san, you're taking this quite well," Histoire said, "I expected a reaction when he showed up."

"Trust me, I was shocked like the others. Also, I'm not new to dimension travel. I've been to the edge of time and space a few times before."

She shut her mouth and thought, 'Who the heck is this man anyway?'

Changing the topic, IF asked to Plutia, "Can you transform?"

"I can, but people tell me not to do it too often."

"How come?"

"I wonder why..."

Peashy, who sat next to Neptune, had finished her steak. She wanted more, but there was nothing on her plate other than the side dish. So she took Neptune's remaining piece. Neptune tried to stop her, but it was too late.

"You can have this," Peashy said, offering a cooked eggplant.

Neptune was terrified by the purple vegetable. "Get it away from me! I hate eggplants!"

"This is Tendou's cooking, you know," IF said, "It came out really well."

"I don't want to! The stench alone makes me lose all strength."

"They're good for you," Tendou said.

"I agree," Histoire followed.

"Not you too, Histy!"

Suddenly, the oracle vibrated. When IF asked why she was like that, she said she didn't know. Neptune blamed it on the eggplant. Ignorant to the ruckus, Peashy ate the eggplant. Tendou could only sigh, and so did Kagami. Kusakabe chuckled at the scene.

Outside, a certain duo eavesdropped at the conversation.

 **Share Crystal Chamber**

Histoire made contact with the caller, who looked like her but smaller.

"Sorry about that. It was the first time I'd ever received communications from another dimension, so it took me a while to read the manual and respond accordingly."

"I'm sorry for calling you out of the blue, too," the smaller Histoire apologized, "Thank you for taking care of Plutia-san and Souji-san."

"You're kind of tiny."

"Don't look down on me because I'm small! I was the one who sent them to your dimension, you know."

"I see. That was quite the shock, though.I had no idea other dimensions existed, let alone that they were so easy to travel between."

"It's not easy! I'll have you know it's actually quite difficult to do."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Well, the manual does contain a how-to guide. Took me three days to read it all."

"Is that so? I'll have a look through mine. Anyway, why did you send Plutia-san and Kusakabe-san here?"

"To tell you the truth, we detected a large flow of energy from our dimension to yours. I think something–or someone–moved there."

"Oh..."

"Whatever it is, it holds so much energy that if we let it go, our world might run out of energy to sustain itself."

"Right."

"That's why we need Plutia-san to look for whatever went missing and bring it back, with Souji-san as her caretaker."

"I see. So, how would one go about searching for this thing?"

"I spent three days investigating that, and I still couldn't figure it out."

"Huh?"

"All we can do is try to stay on top of any changes that happen in your world. If some kind of major upheaval takes place, you should be able to find what we seek nearby."

"I understand. I'll let the others know."

 **Planeptower**

Compa served dessert, which was pudding. Neptune was obviously ecstatic. Before she could take one, Peashy took hers, which was named.

"Hey, P-ko!"

"I want this one!"

"That's mine. Can't you see it says 'Nep's' on the label?"

"Peashy-chan, the others are the same as that one," Nepgear told the little girl.

"No! I want to eat Nep's pudding!"

"It says it's mine, so it's mine!" Neptune still persisted.

"Go away!"

"Say what?"

Neptune suddenly felt something hit her head. Instinctively, she caught it. It was a pudding cup, Tendou's to be specific. It had his name in an intricate handwriting.

"Take mine," the owner of the pudding said nonchalantly, "I'll just grab some ice cream."

"Tendou-kun, you're a lifesaver!"

Later, both Neptune and Peashy sat down to eat their dessert. As the former was already eating, the latter tried to get it out of the cup. She tried squeezing it, which didn't turn out quite well. It was a gooey mess on the plate. Seeing that, Neptune cracked up. Plutia comforted the sobbing girl, and Kusakabe shut the goddess' mouth by shoving it with her own pudding.

"Good grief. For a goddess, you're tactless."

* * *

The next day, Histoire told everyone what she heard last night. However, no one was listening except for IF, Compa, and Kagami. Neptune was playing video games, Plutia was sewing, and Nepgear was trying to get her N-Gear back from Peashy. The two Soujis went out to buy groceries, most probably tofu.

"Um, are you listening to me?"

"Oh, sorry, Histy-san. I'm listening," Nepgear stopped to reply, but ran after Peashy again.

"That's _if_ anything peculiar happens, right?" Neptune restated, "I haven't seen anything yet."

"But you haven't moved an inch."

"I'll go on patrol, Lady Histoire," IF told the oracle.

"I'll go with you," Kagami said.

"Thanks as always. I'm counting on you."

"Sure." Before she went out, she remembered something. "Compa, you've got work now, right? Want a ride on my motorbike?"

"Yes, thank you!"

The three set off. Meanwhile, Plutia had finished her work. It was a Neptune plushie.

"All done!"

Everyone present went and took a look at it.

"Plutie, is that me?" Neptune asked.

"It's Neptuna!" Peashy said excitedly.

"That's right."

"It's so cute," Nepgear cooed.

"Totally. It's got everything that makes me cute!" the older CPU indirectly gloated.

"I like making plushies of my friends. I have a lot of them back home."

She showed them a plushie she had made before. It was a Kusakabe plushie. The Purple sisters almost mistook it as Tendou, but they noticed the palette swap on the clothes.

"Make me, too!" Peashy implored.

"I'll do yours next, and Gear-chan after that."

She prepared the cloth and laid it down on the coffee table. She then went to a thinking position.

"Maybe we'll get to see a real artist's work?" Neptune said in anticipation.

"Yeah, maybe she'll make it without any pattern paper," Nepgear added.

They waited and waited for her to make it. She didn't, deciding to take a nap instead. Poor Peashy sobbed as her plushie wasn't going to be made.

 **Downtown Planeptune**

The usual route to Compa's workplace was unfortunately closed since it was under construction.

"There's a lot of construction work going on today," IF mused, "Sorry we're running late."

"I don't think this will be a problem," Kagami assured.

"Huh?"

Calling the Gatack Zecter, Kagami quickly transformed. "Henshin!"

 **HENSHIN**

Gatack then pushed the handlebars of the Gatack Extender so that they were facing forward. "Cast Off!"

 **CAST OFF**

He jumped high, casting off his armor. The dirt-bike transformed into a hoverboard of some sort with the mandibles enlarged.

"Hop on, Compa!"

She got on the flying vehicle. Before the two left, she waved to IF. "See you, Ai-chan!" Then they flew away.

IF went on with her patrol. Suddenly, a purple mist covered the street. She stopped and held her breath. The helmet was blocking some of the mist, but not all. Within the mist, two cloaked figures appeared.

"You certainly fell for that one easily," the taller figure said.

"Wait, you can't be..."

Calling TheBee Zecter, which then latched itself onto the Rider Brace, she turned the wasp-like machine.

 **HENSHIN**

Transformed, she got off and charged at the hooded person. She took off the cloak, revealing the identity.

"Arfoire!"

Unfortunately, the poison had taken effect. She felt woozy, struggling to stand. She swung at Arfoire but missed. Her opponent punched her in the gut. TheBee collapsed right there.

* * *

 **Planeptower**

Tired of waiting for Plutia, Neptune and Peashy fell asleep on the couch. Nepgear ran to wake them up. She seemed in a hurry.

"Onee-chan, wake up!"

"I can't eat anymore...," mumbled Neptune.

"Quit having such cliched dreams!"

Neptune woke up, tiredly looking at her sister. "What do you want, Nepgear?"

Pulling out the N-Gear, the younger Purple sister showed pictures of IF, de-transformed, bound to a post.

"What the heck is that?"

"They were sent to me from an unknown address. There was a map attached, too."

"We need to go save her!"

"Yeah, but who would do a thing like this?"

 **Downtown Planeptune**

Over at the nearest market, Tendou and Kusakabe chatted while getting things from the former's checklist. To differ between the two, Tendou was wearing a black coat and white shirt while Kusakabe was wearing a black shirt and white jacket. Their speech pattern was also different, as Kusakabe had a more polite tone.

"If you're wondering about Hiyori, she's doing well. She started her own bistro about a year ago," the former began.

"Thank goodness. I was worried something happened to her."

"Still want to take her away? You do have my previous surname."

"Like I said from our last encounter, I want you to protect our world, Kabuto. That also includes Hiyori."

"We're not in our world, though, and just call me Tendou."

"Then call me Kusakabe."

"It still feels weird to say it. Still better than Souji since we both are."

Suddenly, the Kabuto Extender comm line rang. Running to pick it up, it was from Nepgear.

"Tendou-san, IF-san is in trouble! We're going there to save her! I'll send you the address!"

She hung up.

"And I hoped to get some tofu for tonight, but oh well," Tendou sighed.

"It is unfortunate. Let's go, shall we?"

The two of them got on the bike. Tendou was the driver with Kusakabe on the back. Putting on their helmets, the original Souji started the engine and rode to the specified location.

 **Eggplant Plains**

IF woke up to the familiar face of Arfoire.

"You won't achieve anything by doing this, Arfoire. Nep-ko, Nepgear, and the Riders will just defeat you again."

"This time will be different," Arfoire said confidently, "I've got an ace up my sleeve. That is..."

She pointed at the field behind her, "All these eggplants!"

"What?"

"I've already figured out that eggplants are a CPU's Achilles' heel! I'll put them through hell right here in this eggplant farm."

"You don't stand a chance no matter what tricks you pull, you old hag."

"Shut up, pipsqueak."

She pulled out a rather large eggplant. Turning IF's head with a mischievous grin, she put the whole eggplant into her mouth. IF tried so hard to resist, but it was too much.

"Choke it all down. Don't leave a single molecule behind."

Swallowing it down, IF said, "What do you think you're doing, you wrinkly witch!?"

"Silence!" Arfoire shoved another one. She then went on talking, "Eggplant skin is loaded with polyphenols, you know?"

Just after she made the hostage to swallow everything, reinforcements arrived.

"Stop right there!"

Turning around, she saw the CPUs of Planeptune carrying Plutia.

"There you are, CPU. Today's the day I send you six feet under."

Then, the backup entered the fields. Noticing the bike, she deduced, "Kabuto..."

When the two helmeted people got off the ride, they took off their helmets. She was caught off guard with their similarities.

"Why is there two of you!?"

"Darn it, should've expected that," Tendou facepalmed.

Eventually, Purple Heart noticed where they were and instinctively clasped her nose and mouth with her free hand.

"Onee-chan, are you okay?" Purple Sister worriedly asked.

"I'm sorry. The stench of those eggplants..."

"Took you long enough," the witch said, "I bought all this farmland so I could use your Achilles' heel against you. This eggplant field will be your grave!"

"Don't be stupid! Sure, I may hate eggplants, but they're not going to kill me."

"We'll see about that."

She threw a basket of the purple vegetable, and it turned into a bunch of eggplant lancers. "Come forth, my purple servants!"

Tendou and Kusakabe facepalmed at her antics. "That sounds really dumb, coming from her," the former said.

"I expected more flair. Anyway, you know what to do," the other Souji reminded.

"Who do you take me for?"

They both raised their hand, calling their respective partners. Kusakabe's Zecter is exactly the same as Tendou's, except for the darker colors. It isn't named the Dark Kabuto Zecter for no reason. Taking their stances, they shouted the magic word.

"'Henshin!'"

 **HENSHIN**

Hexagons covered their bodies. Their Masked Forms were also the same. The only difference was that Dark Kabuto's visor was yellow.

Back with the goddesses, Purple Heart couldn't take the eggplants anymore and reverted back to Neptune. Purple Sister struggled to keep her older sister and Plutia afloat. Eventually, her grip slipped. The two sister shouted as they fell. Their cries were heard by the two Kabutos and they acted accordingly.

"'Cast Off!'"

 **CAST OFF**

 **CHANGE BEETLE**

"'Clock Up!'"

 **CLOCK UP**

They caught the falling goddesses just in time. Kabuto caught Neptune and Dark Kabuto caught Plutia.

 **CLOCK OVER**

"I'm a CPU, you know," Neptune said while in Kabuto's arms, "Even if I fall from that height, I'll be fine."

"Because of a purple vegetable? I find that ironic," Kabuto retorted, which was met with a pout. "How's it on your end, Kusakabe?"

"Safe and sound," Dark Kabuto answered, putting Plutia down.

Neptune finally got a closer look at Kabuto's copy. The parts that should be red on the original was black. He also had brown circuit patterns on the upper armor. The eyes were yellow instead of blue.

The eggplant army was on their tail. Neptune was scared of them and ran away, and Plutia was too tired to care. So Kabuto commanded Purple Sister to cover them. His mimic already brandished the kunai from his Kunai Gun.

"Just like back home," he mused.

Slaying some of his own enemies, Kabuto asked, "Wait, you mean this happens a lot in your dimension?"

"Pretty much," he replied, cutting another group of eggplant lancers, "Let's just say I'm the quest taker for the Basilicom."

Back to Arfoire and IF, the latter tried to snap Neptune out of her eggplant-induced fear. The former's response was to shove more eggplants into her mouth. Purple Sister wanted to free her but was stopped by another army of eggplant lancers. Neptune fought back, still trying to resist the smell. Kabuto, who had his hands full, noticed Plutia's changing expression. She lifted the Neptune plushie that she brought with her and slammed it to the ground, creating a crater. Everyone got her attention.

"This kind of...," she slowly began, "Vexes me."

"Oh no, Plutie is using big words!" Neptune stated.

She stomped the plushie, shocking and scaring everyone present including the two Kabutos, although to a lesser degree.

"Why would you... torment... Ai-chan like that?"

Scared, Arfoire tried to retort, "She's my hostage! I can do whatever I want to her!"

"So that's how it's going to be, is it?" she paused, letting out a sinister grin, "In that case..."

Plutia transformed into her HDD. Her change was as drastic as Purple Heart's. She donned a revealing black suit and butterfly-like wings. She had dark magenta eyes and iris colored hair. Wielding a sword-whip, she is named Iris Heart.

"Maybe _I_ should do whatever I want, too."

"Uh, Plutie?" Neptune shakily said.

"Who the heck are you!?" Arfoire asked.

"Me? I'm just a goddess called Iris Heart. You don't have to remember it."

She dashed to the witch, saying, "I'll carve it into your body for you!" and slashed her friend's captor. Not done yet, she taunted, "Don't tell me you're all flash and no substance, now," and smashed her to the ground.

"Show me a side of yours that's a little less withered up, would you!?"

Iris Heart continued her merciless attacked Arfoire, laughing in joy in the process.

"She seems to be enjoying herself," Purple Sister commented.

"Anyway, we should let Plutie handle things over there," Neptune told her little sister, transforming into Purple Heart. "While they're at it, let's finish these guys off nice and quick. Nepgear, go and free Ai-chan. I'll chop up these eggplants."

"Okay."

With the two Kabutos...

"Is she always like this in HDD?" Kabuto wondered.

"Yeah," Dark Kabuto answered, "That's why she shouldn't do it too often. In that form, she's dominant, so to speak."

Iris Heart slammed the witch down once more, making a large crater.

"I thought I'd be able to have a bit more fun, but I guess a loser's a loser."

"I just let my guard down, that's all!"

"Man, losers are always full of excuses. Blah blah blah blah, it hurts to listen to.

"I'm not going to reach the climax like this. Guess I'll just finish you off. Oh, I have a better idea."

With her sword whip, she grabbed an eggplant. "Think of yourself as this measly purple vegetable."

Realizing what she was going to do, Purple Heart tried to stop her. "Wait, Plutie! Don't –," but her warning came out too late as Iris Heart tossed and whipped the eggplant.

"I'll whip you into shape, so you will never be a loser again! Yes, you'll become my servant, my broken servant! Even if it means I have to delete you and make you obsolete!"

Having too much fun, she kept whipping the vegetable.

"Delete! Delete! Delete!"

When she was done, the ruined eggplant fell down. Horrified, Arfoire fainted.

"It's still not enough. Too bad she fainted. Now, who's..."

 **CLOCK UP**

She felt an impact on her side of her face. Rolling down the hill, she got up and looked at her attacker.

"You're... Souji-kun's lookalike, if I'm not mistaken."

It was Kabuto. He seemed furious about something, and they were going to find out the reason.

"Grandmother said this: 'There are two things a man must never do. One is to not make girls cry... The other is to not handle food so crudely!'"

He began his assault on Iris Heart. She happily complied his unspoken request. "Come, beetle boy! Satisfy me!" Clashing blades and fists, they started a war dance. Every attack was an art of its own right. Kabuto's unwavering strikes combined with the CPU's flashy swordsmanship was for the lack of a better word, beautiful. The other conscious people awed at the fight. It might be the best battle they had ever witnessed. To think it started because of a wasted eggplant.

"Wow, he's the first person other than me not to be intimidated by her presence," Dark Kabuto thought out loud.

Before long, it was over. Iris Heart was on the ground, sighing in content. From her expression, she could have reached the aforementioned climax. When she turned back to Plutia, she fell asleep. Kabuto, who already reverted to his human form, was on his knees. He had spent a lot of stamina from that fight alone. Slowly getting up, he said one more punchline, "In the end... we're all satisfied. And you are set free."

The Purple Sisters, IF and Dark Kabuto approached him, checking if he was hurt.

"Sorry that I lost my cool," Tendou apologized.

"Don't be," Dark Kabuto said, reverting to Kusakabe, "I guess you don't like wasting food."

"No good chef does. Speaking of that," he gazed at the eggplants that were yet to be picked, "I know what we'll be having tonight."

Meanwhile, in the shack near the farm, Pirachu sat in the corner, moping. "Compa-chan..."

* * *

 **Planeptower**

True to his words, they had mauve eggplants for dinner. Neptune and IF, who was traumatized, shrieked in horror.

"Why are we having eggplants again after what just happened?" questioned Neptune.

"Yeah, why?" IF followed.

"Peashy-chan likes it," Tendou said, "And I didn't buy anything else, thanks to that incident."

To prove his argument, he pointed at Peashy who gladly ate the cooked vegetable.

"Just deal with it and eat."

They still refused. So he told his mimic, "Kusakabe, feed IF. I'll take care of Neptune."

The two Soujis went to feed the unwilling pair. Kusakabe got off easy. Although the Maker didn't want it at first, with some sweet words and a soft rub to the head, she opened her mouth and ate it. Tendou on the other hand...

"Will you stop that?"

"No."

Neptune kept turning her head away. She wanted none of those eggplants. Having enough of her antics, he said, "Might as well do this." He put a slice in his mouth with one end sticking out. His face went closer to hers. She blushed, knowing what would happen.

"W-wait, Tendou-kun! Are you serious!?"

"If it makes you eat, then yeah."

She pouted. "Fine."

She inched her face closer, opening her mouth. She finally took a bite. The others had varying responses. Nepgear and Compa covered their mouths in shock. 'She... ate it. How romantic.'

Plutia cheered in her usual tired fashion. "Yay..."

Histoire was a little uncomfortable. "Tendou-san, there are children here!"

"If it works, I won't complain." He then faced Neptune again. "One more?"

"Tendou-san!"

"Boy, you're making moves!" Kagami smirked.

"Shut it," was the reply.

When the night ended, everyone went back to their quarters. Tendou had one more thought before going to sleep.

'I wonder... if she could walk the path of Heaven.'

 **Eggplant Plains**

Arfoire decided to give up on world domination. She had grown tired of it and settled down to be an eggplant farmer.

"Are you seriously doing this?" Pirachu asked.

"Yeah. I used all of my money on that operation, so I don't have anywhere else to go."

The mouse got up and began picking some eggplants.

"You'll help me?"

"I don't have anything better to do."

She looked up to the sky, saying, "This is so strange. For the first time ever, I feel alive."

* * *

 **The next chapter is, oh boy, the R-18 island. I know they wrote it like Ex-Aid episodes 12 and 17 but darn, it's the beach episode.**

 **As the currently airing Kamen Rider series put it, see you next game.**


End file.
